In 1990, he served as the head of the first and only democratically elected government of East Germany, holding this office during the final months before German reunification.

Subsequently he briefly served as a minister in the new government of the unified Federal Republic of Germany until his past as a Stasi informant was revealed.

Lothar de Maizière was born in Nordhausen, Thuringia, and attended the ancient Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster,[3] where he was one of the last pupils before the school closed in 1958.

[6] A longtime member of the East German Christian Democratic Union, Maizière helped oust the party's pro-Communist leadership after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

One month later, he succeeded Hans Modrow as Premier[7] and held this position from 12 April until 2 October 1990, heading the de Maizière cabinet.