Adolf Köster (8 March 1883 – 18 February 1930) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister (1920) and Interior Minister (1921–1922).

Background

Adolf Köster was born on 8 March 1883 in

Verden an der Aller Verden an der Aller (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Veern''), also called Verden (Aller) or simply Verden, is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the district town of the district of Verden in Lower Saxony and an independent munic ...

in the

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position ...

, Prussia. He grew up in

Kappeln Kappeln ( da, Kappel) is a town in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the north bank of the Schlei, approx. northeast of Schleswig, and southeast of Flensburg. For the eastern Angeln and the n ...

. In 1906, he became a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In 1907, he was awarded a Dr. phil. and in 1912 habilitated in

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

. He taught at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was a war correspondent for SPD newspapers like ''

Vorwärts ''Vorwärts'' (, "Forward") is a newspaper published by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Founded in 1876, it was the central organ of the SPD for many decades. Following the party's Halle Congress (1891), it was published daily as ...

'' as well as for the ''

Berliner Tageblatt The ''Berliner Tageblatt'' or ''BT'' was a German language newspaper published in Berlin from 1872 to 1939. Along with the ''Frankfurter Zeitung'', it became one of the most important liberal German newspapers of its time. History The ''Berline ...

''.

Political career

Following the November Revolution in 1918, he started to work as a ''Referent'' at the ''

Reichskanzlei The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...

''. In 1919, he worked for the Prussian ''Staatskommissar'' in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

, where he had grown up. He was ''Abstimmungskommissar'', and in that function worked successfully for German interests in the

plebiscites A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. He served as

Foreign Minister of Germany , insignia = Bundesadler Bundesorgane.svg , insigniasize = 80px , insigniacaption = , department = Federal Foreign Office , image = Annalena Baerbock (cropped, 2).jpg , alt = , incumbent = Annalena Baerbock , incumbentsince = 8 December ...

from 10 April to 21 June 1920 in the first cabinet of Hermann Müller based on SPD, the Zentrum and the liberal

German Democratic Party The German Democratic Party (, or DDP) was a center-left liberal party in the Weimar Republic. Along with the German People's Party (, or DVP), it represented political liberalism in Germany between 1918 and 1933. It was formed in 1918 from the ...

(DDP). In the second cabinet of

Joseph Wirth Karl Joseph Wirth (6 September 1879 – 3 January 1956) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served for one year and six months as the chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922, as the finance minister from 1920 to 1921, a ...

(Zentrum, SPD, DDP), he served as

Minister of the Interior of Germany The Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Community (german: Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat, ; ''Heimat'' also translates to "homeland"), abbreviated , is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main ...

from 26 October 1921 to 14 November 1922. Köster was also a member of the Reichstag from 1920 to 1924.

Diplomatic career

After serving as Envoy to Riga from 1923 to 1928, he was appointed in 1928 as Envoy to Belgrade. He died in Belgrade in 1930.

Publications

*''Fort mit der Dolchstoßlegende! Warum wir 1918 nicht weiterkämpfen konnten.'' Berlin: Verlag für Politik und Wissenschaft, 1922. *''Mit den Bulgaren. Kiegsberichte aus Serbien und Mazedonien.'' Verlag Albert Langen, München, 1916. * ''Wandernde Erde. Kriegsberichte aus dem Westen.'' Verlag Albert Langen, München, 1917.

Literature

* Hiden, John: ''Adolf Köster und Paul Schiemann in Riga. Deutsche Ostpolitik nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg''. in: Norbert Angermann et al.: Ostseeprovinzen, Baltische Staaten und das Nationale. LIT Verlag, Münster 2005, * ''Biographisches Lexikon des Sozialismus Band I'' Verlag J.H.W. Dietz Nachf., Hannover 1960, p. 164-165

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koster, Adolf 1883 births 1930 deaths People from Verden an der Aller People from the Province of Hanover Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Foreign Ministers of Germany Interior ministers of Germany Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich