By the time Ott left school there was little sign of former SPD members in the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED / Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands), the controlling positions in which were all occupied by men who before April 1946 would have defined themselves politically as Communists.

[1] The constitutional structure of the German Democratic Republic was closely modeled on that of the Soviet Union which placed government institutions, including ministries, in a subservient position to that of The Party.

He remained a member till the Central Committee resigned at the end of 1989 as part of the sequence of events leading to German reunification the next year.

[1] On 1 February 1982 Harry Ott took on another high-profile diplomatic role as the German Democratic Republic's permanent representative at the United Nations, in succession to Peter Florin.

His term in the United Nations job came to an end in 1988,[1] but according to some sources he retained the governmental responsibilities for several months in the Modrow government, formally till April 1990.

[7] During the run-up to reunification Harry Ott became a consultant with the Berlin-based Society for the protection of civil rights and human dignity,[8] an association of former GDR dignitaries and members of the Staatssicherheit.