Werner Eggerath (March 16, 1900 - 1977) was an East German author and communist politician. He was a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and its first secretary in Thuringia from April 21, 1946 to 1947, already having held that position in the Communist Party of Germany before its merger into the SED. After having been Minister of the Interior of Thuringia since May 1947, he became its Minister-President on October 9, 1947, which he stayed until July 23, 1952 when the state was abolished.