From 1962, he was a member of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, and in 1968 he was one of the first two acting chairmen of the Council of Ministers. Neumann played an important role in the initiation and implementation of the New Economic System ("Neues Ökonomisches System"; NÖS). In the wake of Erich Honecker's removal of Walter Ulbricht in 1971, Neumann, as the only important Politburo member from that time, refused to go along with underwriting a secret request to the Soviet leadership for Ulbricht's redemption, since he was on Ulbricht's side on content and conceptual issues. Erich Honecker would never forget this. Neumann was until the end an uncomfortable antagonist to Honecker, but this was never used in public against him. Downfall In 1989, in East Germany's dying days, Neumann went back to join the Council of Ministers and was excluded from the Politburo. He was also excluded from the SED/PDS in 1990. From 1992 he faced accusations of "manslaughter and bodily harm on the inter-German border" for his membership in the East German National Defence Council ("Nationaler Verteidigungsrat der DDR"). The 23rd Penal Chamber of the Berlin State Court, however, stayed proceedings in 1999 without ever arranging a trial. Neumann received in 1956 and 1964 the Fatherland Order of Merit and in 1984 the Order of Karl Marx. Literature "Arbeit für den Sozialismus", selected speeches, Berlin 1979 "Die DDR stärken - den Frieden sichern", selected speeches, Berlin 1984 S. Prokop: "Poltergeist im Politbüro. S. Prokop im Gespräch mit Alfred Neumann", Frankfurt an der Oder 1996 External links 1909 births 2001 deaths Politicians from Berlin Communist Party of Germany politicians Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Government ministers of East Germany Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Members of the 4th Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the 6th Volkskammer Members of the 7th Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Communists in the German Resistance People condemned by Nazi courts German people of the Spanish Civil War International Brigades personnel Waffen-SS personnel German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor