Arthur Adolf, Count of Posadowsky-Wehner, Baron of Postelwitz (, 3 June 1845 – 23 October 1932) was a German conservative statesman. He served as the secretary for the Treasury (1893–1897), secretary of the Interior, vice-chancellor of the German Empire and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

(1897–1907).

Biography

Born to

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

n nobility, the son of a judge, Posadowsky-Wehner studied law in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and Breslau and earned a doctorate in law in 1867. He subsequently acquired an agricultural property, and entered politics in 1871, when he became a member of the province government in Posen. In 1882 he became a member of the Parliament of Prussia, and was appointed Landeshauptmann of Posen in 1885. Posadowsky was a crucial figure for the election reform in 1903. He took care of a new voting technique to protect the secrecy of the ballot for the German parliament. Posadowsky-Wehner was the candidate of the

German National People's Party The German National People's Party (, DNVP) was a national-conservative and German monarchy, monarchist political party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major nationalist party in Weimar German ...

for the Presidency of Germany in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

, but he lost to

Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until ...

. Posadowsky-Wehner would begin to distance himself from the DNVP in the aftermath of the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to ...

, eventually leaving the party at the end of 1920.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908''
p. 58
/ref>

Publications

*''Über die Altersversorgung der Arbeiter'' (1883) *''Geschichte des schlesischen adligen Geschlechtes der Grafen Posadowsky-Wehner, Freiherren von Postelwitz'' (1891) *''Luxus und Sparsamkeit'' (1909) *''Die Wohnungsfrage als Kulturproblem'' (1910) *''Volk und Regierung im neuen Reich'' (1932)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Posadowsky-Wehner, Artur von 1845 births 1932 deaths People from Głogów People from the Province of Silesia Silesian nobility German Protestants German National People's Party politicians Reich Party for Civil Rights and Deflation politicians Vice-chancellors of Germany Finance ministers of Germany Interior ministers of Germany Members of the 13th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Prussian House of Lords Members of the Weimar National Assembly Candidates for President of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus