Heinrich Rau

Heinrich Gottlob "Heiner" Rau (2 April 1899 – 23 March 1961) was a German communist politician during the time of the Weimar Republic. He was a leading member of the International Brigades, a member of the Landtag of Prussia (1928-1933) and after World War II an East German statesman.^[1] He was the chairman of the German Economic Commission, the precursor to the East German government.

Heinrich Rau
Rau giving a speech in Leipzig, 1950
Born	(1899-04-02)2 April 1899 Feuerbach, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire
Died	23 March 1961(1961-03-23) (aged 61) East Berlin, East Germany
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde, Berlin, Germany
Organization(s)	Spartacus League, International Brigades
Known for	Leader of the XI International Brigade Chairman of the German Economic Commission Leading economic politician and diplomat of East Germany
Political party	Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (1917–1919) Communist Party of Germany (1919–1946) Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1946–1961)
Spouse(s)	Helene Heß Elisabeth Bihr
Children	3 sons, 1 daughter