Which East German prime minister's resignation did Egon Krenz approve on 7 November 1989? Egon Krenz approved Willi Stoph's resignation.
On 7 November 1989, East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph and his entire 44-member cabinet resigned amid mass demonstrations, a growing exodus to the West and demands for political reform. Egon Krenz, who had become the country's leading communist figure after Erich Honecker's removal, approved the resignation along with changes to the party leadership.
Stoph was a veteran SED official and had served as chairman of the Council of Ministers, the office commonly described in English as prime minister. His cabinet continued performing its duties in a caretaker capacity until the Volkskammer selected a replacement. Hans Modrow was subsequently chosen as prime minister in mid-November.
The event is sometimes confused with Krenz's own succession or with Modrow's appointment. Those were separate steps in the rapid leadership changes of November 1989. Stoph's resignation was part of an attempt to distance the regime from its discredited old guard, but it did not halt the protests or the movement toward the Wall's opening.