Robert Schmidt (15 May 1864 – 16 September 1943) was a German trade unionist, journalist,

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and member of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

. He served as the minister of ''Reichsernährungsminister'' (Alimentation), ''Reichswirtschaftsminister'' (Economic Affairs) and ''Reichsminister für Wiederaufbau'' (Reconstruction) in a number of cabinets 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 ...

Life

Robert Schmidt was born 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 ...

on 15 May 1864. He was apprenticed as a

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

builder, and from 1890 to 1893 served as a member of the board of the association of piano builders of Berlin. From 1893 to 1902, he was

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

for the social-democratic newspaper '' Vorwärts''. From 1893 to 1898 and from 1903 to 1918, Schmidt was a member of the '' Reichstag'' 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 ...

for the Social Democratic Party of Germany. In 1902, he was a member of the ''Generalkommission'' of German trade unions and from 1903 to 1910 was head of the ''Zentral-Arbeitersekretariat''. In 1918, he became ''Unterstaatssekretär'' of the ''Kriegsernährungsamt''. After the

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, he was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

of the

(1919–20). He remained a member of the '' Reichstag'' until 1930. In 1919, Schmidt became ''Reichsernährungsminister'' (Minister for Alimentation/Food) in the cabinet of ''Ministerpräsident''

Philipp Scheidemann Philipp Heinrich Scheidemann (26 July 1865 – 29 November 1939) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the first quarter of the 20th century he played a leading role in both his party and in the young Weimar ...

. He continued to serve in the government as ''Reichswirtschaftsminister'' (minister for Economic Affairs) in the cabinet of

Gustav Bauer Gustav Adolf Bauer (; 6 January 1870 – 16 September 1944) was a German Social Democratic Party leader and the chancellor of Germany from June 1919 to March 1920. Prior to that, he was minister of labour in the last cabinet of the German Empi ...

(1919–20). He retained this position in the cabinets of Hermann Müller, and

Joseph Wirth Karl Joseph Wirth (; 6 September 1879 – 3 January 1956) was a German politician of the Centre Party (Germany), Catholic Centre Party who was Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany fr ...

from March 1920 to November 1922, interrupted only by the Fehrenbach cabinet (June 1920 - May 1921), which excluded the SPD. In 1923, he was

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

and minister for Reconstruction in the first cabinet of

Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman during the Weimar Republic who served as Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany from August to November 1 ...

. In 1929, he again served briefly as minister for Reconstruction in the second cabinet of Hermann Müller. Schmidt died on 16 September 1943 in Berlin.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Robert 1864 births 1943 deaths Politicians from Berlin Politicians from the Province of Brandenburg Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Vice-chancellors of Germany Economy ministers of Germany Government ministers of Germany Members of the 9th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 11th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 12th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 13th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Weimar National Assembly Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic