Ex East German president could not stand his 'purple dragon' wife

London, Jan 24 (ANI): Former East German leader Erich Honecker had a difficult marriage with his wife Margot, whom he referred to as 'the purple dragon' behind her back, according to new intelligence reports.

Honecker could not bear to be around his wife at all and probably gave her the name because of the bizarre colour shades she used on her hair.

Honecker was so fed up with his marriage that he even arranged for her to go on separate foreign trips when he was away so that she would not be able to travel with him.

Intelligence reports collated by the BND spy service of West Germany have just been published and show that Honecker, who ruled the so-called German Democratic Republic for 28 years, eased his difficult marriage by indulging in affairs. And so did she.

While he and his politburo preached the benefits of marriage to building a 'strong socialist state', Honecker played away when he got the chance, the Daily Mail reported.

Once when he was invited to Japan in 1981 he ensured that his Communist brethren in then Yugoslavia invited her - she was the country's education minister - to Belgrade at the same time.

This time it wasn't to chase the ladies but so 'I can find some peace and quiet', a file quoted Honecker as saying.

The files have revealed that the marriage to Margot was apparently 'already over by this time in all but name and was only being held together for party and state purposes.'

Even as Erich was reportedly having an affair with one of his co-workers, Margot was linked to one of the country's top economists Guenter Mittag, according to Spiegel magazine, which accessed the BND files.

Despite their marital troubles, the couple fled to Chile together after East Germany imploded in 1989.

While Honecker died of liver cancer in 1994 in Chile, the 84-year-old Margot still lives in Santiago, Chile with daughter Sonja. (ANI)