Horst Stechbarth (13 April 1925 – 8 June 2016) was an East German politician and high-ranking military officer in the National People's Army (Nationale Volksarmee), holding the rank of Generaloberst (Colonel General).

On 1 March 1949, Stehbarth entered the "Department of the Border Troops" and in the same year he joined the Free German Youth, became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) by 1951.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the NVA on 1 March 1976, he was promoted to Colonel General and was appointed to the Central Committee of the SED.

On 31 December 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Stechbarth retired, following his allies Wolfgang Reinhold and Horst Brünner.

[4][5] Just weeks earlier, Stechbarth commanded the Republic Day military parade on Karl Marx Allee celebrating the ruby jubilee of the GDR, held in front of National Defense Council Chairman Erich Honecker and Soviet Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev.