Prince Maximilian of Baden
Chancellor of Germany in 1918
Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929), also known as Max von Baden, was a German aristocrat, general and politician. A member of the House of Baden, in October and November 1918 he briefly served as the last chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Prince Maximilian of Baden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Jul 10, 1867, died Nov 6, 1929.1
About
The son of Prince Wilhelm of Baden and Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, Max studied law at the Leipzig University before joining the Prussian Army. He became heir presumptive to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1907 upon the death of his uncle, Grand Duke Frederick I. He served as a general staff officer at the XIV Corps upon the outbreak of World War I. In 1914, he became honorary president of the Baden section of the German Red Cross, where he worked for the welfare of prisoners of war using his international connections.
Emperor Wilhelm II appointed Max chancellor in October 1918, replacing Georg von Hertling, and he was immediately tasked to approach the Allies and secure an armistice. Despite his own reservations, he began peace negotiations based on U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and took steps towards transforming the government into a parliamentary system. He forced Erich Ludendorff's resignation from the Supreme Army Command when the latter threatened to derail the negotiations. As revolution in Germany rapidly spread in November 1918, Max unilaterally proclaimed the abdication of Wilhelm and handed over the chancellorship to SPD Chairman Friedrich Ebert, marking the end of the German Empire and the beginning of the Weimar Republic.
After the revolution, Max returned to Baden and spent the rest of his life in retirement. He wrote a number of books and established the private boarding school Schule Schloss Salem with the help of Kurt Hahn. He died in 1929, a year after becoming the head of the House of Baden.
From Wikipedia’s article on Prince Maximilian of Baden, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
- Schule Schloss SalemFounder12
Early life and education
Born in Baden-Baden on 10 July 1867, Maximilian was a member of the House of Baden, the son of Prince Wilhelm Max (1829–1897), third son of Grand Duke Leopold (1790–1852) and Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg (1841–1914), a granddaughter of Eugène de Beauharnais. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Maximilian de Beauharnais, and bore a resemblance to his cousin, Emperor Napoleon III.
Max received a humanistic education at a Gymnasium secondary school and studied law and cameralism at the Leipzig University. Upon the order of Queen Victoria, Prince Max was brought to Darmstadt in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine as a suitor for Victoria's granddaughter, Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. Alix was the daughter of Victoria's late daughter, Princess Alice, and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. Alix quickly rejected Prince Max, as she was in love with Nicholas II, the future Tsar of Russia. Max von Baden was homosexual and even listed on an according list of the Berlin criminal police as a young officer, however in 1900 he decided for dynastic reasons to marry Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland. So did the future King Gustaf V of Sweden who married Max's cousin Victoria of Baden.
From Wikipedia’s article on Prince Maximilian of Baden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: politician.6
- Until 1918Minister President of Prussia5
- 1918Imperial chancellor5
- Date not recordedFounded Schule Schloss Salem4
Personal life
- BornJul 10, 1867, Baden-Baden7
- DiedNov 6, 1929, Salem8
- CitizenshipGerman Empire, Grand Duchy of Baden9
- SpousePrincess Marie Louise of Hanover 1900 to 192910
Maximilian was married to Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland, eldest daughter of Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, and Princess Thyra of Denmark, on 10 July 1900 in Gmunden, Austria-Hungary. The couple had two children:
Princess Marie Alexandra of Baden (1 August 1902 – 29 January 1944); married Prince Wolfgang of Hesse, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, son of Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse-Kassel, designated King of Finland, and Princess Margaret of Prussia; no issue. Marie Alexandra was killed in a bombing of Frankfurt by the Allies of World War II.
Prince Berthold of Baden (24 February 1906 – 27 October 1963); later Margrave of Baden; married Princess Theodora, daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Theodora was the sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
From Wikipedia’s article on Prince Maximilian of Baden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Politics
After finishing his studies, he trained as an officer of the Prussian Army. Following the death of his uncle Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden in 1907, he became heir to the grand-ducal throne of his cousin Frederick II, whose marriage remained childless. He also became president of the Erste Badische Kammer (the upper house of the parliament of Baden). In 1911, Max applied for a military discharge with the rank of a Generalmajor (Major general).
From Wikipedia’s article on Prince Maximilian of Baden (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Awards
- 1906Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold11
- 1900Knight of the Order of the Elephant11
- Date not recordedHouse Order of Hohenzollern11
- Date not recordedIron Cross11
- Date not recordedOrder of Ludwig I11
- Date not recordedOrder of Prince Danilo I11
- Date not recordedOrder of Saint Alexander11
- Date not recordedOrder of Saint Hubert11
- Date not recordedOrder of Saint Stephen of Hungary11
- Date not recordedOrder of St. Andrew11
More awards (7)
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
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- 12WikidataSchule Schloss Salem, Founder
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