was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in German-speaking areas of Europe until the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. At its origin the literal meaning of the word in German was 'trusted advisor'; the word "geheim" (secret) implies that such an advisor could be trusted with the Monarch's secrets (similar to "secretary" in English being linguistically related to "secret"). The English-language equivalent is Privy Councillor. The office contributing to the state's politics and legislation had its roots in the age of absolutism from the 17th century onward, when a governmental administration by a dependent

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

was established similar to the French . A precursor was the '' Reichshofrat'', a judicial body established by Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg. In

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, the professional title of ''Hofrat'' (also ''Hofrath'', Court Councillor) has remained in use as an official title for deserved civil servants up to today. With the Empire's dissolution and the rise of Constitutionalism in the aftermath of the French Revolution, the office of a became an honorific title conferred by the German states upon high officials, accompanied by the address '' Exzellenz''. During that period related titles no longer affiliated with an office arose, like , an award for outstanding contributions in the field of commerce and industry, or ', an award for outstanding contributions to medicine. The term is also used in combination with the word ''Ecke'' – , colloquially describing male pattern baldness at the 'edges' of the forehead (i.e. the upper 'corners' of the face). In the Republic of Austria the title was officially abolished in 1919. In Germany, the title largely disappeared after the fall of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1918, when the various princely states of Germany were replaced by the constituent states of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, although ''Geheimräte'' continued to be appointed by the Free State of Bavaria. However, many honorees continued to use it, and the title , its abbreviation and related abbreviations (, and even ) appear in captions until the 1930s, such as used by the German Federal Archives.Mitglieder, welchen die Ehrengabe verliehen wurde
. ''Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics'' (February 1993). Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer. (print), 1432-0711 (online); vol. 156, no. 1–2. DOI 10.1007/BF01790506. p. XV

List of notable ''Geheimräte''

References

{{Authority control Legal history of Germany Government of the Holy Roman Empire

List of notable ''Geheimräte''

See also

References