Germany's parliament appointed Roland Jahn, a 57-year-old journalist, on Friday as new custodian for the secret police files compiled in former communist East Germany, according to dpa. Like his two predecessors, Jahn grew up in East Germany and was himself among the dissenters that the Stasi secret police kept under surveillance and tried to obstruct by dirty tricks. The files on millions of people are kept in the original Berlin office complex where the Stasi worked and are open to the public, with a staff of 1,800 paid by the taxpayer. The chief custodian, who is independent of the government, has a respected role in public life as Germany's principal public official to expose the crimes and unfairness of the communist system. A former custodian, Joachim Gauck, ran for German president last year. Jahn is to take over from Marianne Birthler, 63, who is retiring after 10 years in the post. Jahn, who was expelled from East Germany in 1983 after being a prisoner of conscience, has worked for a current affairs programme on German public television down the years and is not a member of any political party. He won overwhelming bipartisan support with 535 votes in the ballot.
