Friedrich Ebert
German politician, president of Germany (1871-1925)
Friedrich Ebert ([ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈeːbɐt] ; 4 February 1871 – 28 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first president of Germany from 1919 until his death in 1925.
Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on the death in 1913 of August Bebel. In 1914, shortly after he assumed leadership, the party became deeply divided over Ebert's support of war loans to finance the German war effort in World War I. A moderate social democrat, Ebert was in favour of the Burgfrieden, a political policy that sought to suppress discord over domestic issues among political parties to concentrate all forces in society on the conclusion of the war effort. He tried to isolate those in the party opposed to war and advocated a split.
Ebert was a pivotal figure in the German revolution of 1918–1919. When Germany became a republic at the end of World War I, he became its first chancellor. His policies at that time were primarily aimed at restoring justice and order in Germany and suppressing the left. To accomplish these goals, he allied himself with conservative and nationalistic political forces, in particular the leadership of the military under General Wilhelm Groener and the right-wing Freikorps. With their help, the Reich government, which Ebert headed, crushed a number of socialist, communist and anarchist uprisings as well as those from the right, including the Kapp Putsch, a legacy that has made him a controversial historical figure.
Early life
Ebert was born in Heidelberg in the Grand Duchy of Baden, on 4 February 1871, shortly after the creation of the German Empire, the seventh of nine children of the tailor Karl Ebert (1834–1892) and his wife Katharina (née Hinkel; 1834–1897).
“Friedrich Ebert” enters the record as german politician, president of Germany (1871-1925). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Friedrich, Ebert and German can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2646. VIAF identifies the subject as 14820796. The Library of Congress control number is n85297671. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1871, 1925, 1919 and 1913.
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This entry incorporates text from “Friedrich Ebert” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.