Ilse Thiele

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Ilse Thiele (born Ilse Neukrantz, 4 November 1920 – 10 January 2010) was a prominent East German politician. She led the Democratic Women's League of Germany (DFD) from 1953 to 1989 and was a long-time member of the ruling party’s Central Committee (SED) from 1954 to 1989. She also served in East Germany’s national bodies, including the Volkskammer from 1954 to 1990 and the State Council from 1971 to 1990. Internationally, she was vice-president of the Women’s International Democratic Federation from 1964 to 1989.

Thiele was born Ilse Neukrantz in Berlin’s Lichtenberg district. Her father was a warehouse worker and her mother a hat maker. She and her brother attended local schools and, from 1937 to 1945, worked as a court stenographer. After World War II, she moved to the Soviet-occupied zone and joined the Communist Party. In 1946 the Communist Party merged with the SPD to form the SED, and she joined the new party. She worked as a stenographer for various employers and joined the Free German Trade Union Federation in 1946. From 1948 to 1950 she was a local councilor in Berlin-Lichtenberg with responsibility for social affairs, and she was part of the local party leadership. In 1950 she became the Berlin regional secretary for the DFD and studied at the Karl Marx Party Academy in 1950/51.

She was married to Heinz Thiele (1913–2002) and had three children. Ilse Thiele died in Berlin on 10 January 2010, at the age of 89.