Geheimrat
Encyclopedia
Geheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or principal courts of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

, who jointly formed the Geheimer Rat reporting to the ruler. The English-language equivalent is Privy Councillor
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

.

The office contributing to the state's politics and legislation had its roots in the age of absolutism
Absolutism (European history)
Absolutism or The Age of Absolutism is a historiographical term used to describe a form of monarchical power that is unrestrained by all other institutions, such as churches, legislatures, or social elites...

 from the 17th century onwards, when a governmental administration by a dependent bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...

 was established similar to the French Conseil du Roi
Conseil du Roi
The Conseil du Roi or King's Council is a general term for the administrative and governmental apparatus around the king of France during the Ancien Régime designed to prepare his decisions and give him advice...

. A precursor was the Reichshofrat
Aulic Council
The Aulic Council was originally an executive-judicial council for the Holy Roman Empire....

, a judicial body established by Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...

; in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 the professional title of a Hofrat (Court Councillor) remained in use as an official title for deserved civil servants up to today. With the Empire's dissolution and the rise of Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism has a variety of meanings. Most generally, it is "a complex of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law"....

 in the aftermath of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, the office of a Geheimrat lost its importance and became a honorific title conferred by the German states
Historic states of Germany
This article lists the member states of the German Confederation of 1815-1866, the North German Confederation of 1866-1871 which became a federal empire in 1867, the German Empire of 1871-1918, and lastly the republic of Weimar Germany of 1919-1933....

 upon high officials, accompanied by the address Exzellenz
Excellency
Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...

. During that period related titles no longer affiliated with an office arose, like Geheimer Kommerzienrat or Geheimer Medizinalrat, an award for outstanding contributions to medicine.

The title disappeared after the fall of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 in 1918, when the various princely states of Germany were replaced by the constituent states of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...

. However many honorees insisted on keeping it and Geheimräte were later again appointed by the Free State of Bavaria
History of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires to its status as an independent kingdom and, finally, as a large and significant Bundesland of the modern Federal Republic of...

. In the Republic of Austria the title was officially abolished in 1919. The title Geheimrat, its abbreviation and related abbreviations (, and even ) appears in captions until the 1930s, such as used by the German Federal Archives
German Federal Archives
The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952....

.

Notable Geheimräte

  • Nicholas Remy
    Nicholas Remy
    Nicholas Remy was a French magistrate who became famous as a hunter of witches comparable to Jean Bodin and De Lancre. After studying law at the University of Toulouse, Remy practiced in Paris from 1563 to 1570...

     (1530–1616), title bestowed in 1575 by Duke Charles III of Lorraine
    Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
    Charles III , known as the Great, was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death.-History:He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark...

  • Raimondo Montecuccoli
    Raimondo Montecuccoli
    Raimondo, Count of Montecúccoli or Montecucculi was an Italian military general who also served as general for the Austrians, and was also a prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Neapolitan Duke of Melfi....

     (1609–1680), in 1660 by Emperor Leopold I
    Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
    | style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...

  • Gottfried Leibniz
    Gottfried Leibniz
    Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....

     (1646–1716), in 1678 by Duke John Frederick of Brunswick-Calenberg
    John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
    John Frederick was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, from 1665 until his death....

  • Andrey Osterman (1686–1747), in 1721 by Emperor Peter I of Russia
    Peter I of Russia
    Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

  • Emerich de Vattel
    Emerich de Vattel
    Emer de Vattel was a Swiss philosopher, diplomat, and legal expert whose theories laid the foundation of modern international law and political philosophy. He was born in Couvet in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1714 and died in 1767 of edema...

     (1714–1767), in 1758 by Elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony
    Augustus III of Poland
    Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...

  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...

     (1749–1832), in 1779 by Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar
  • Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring (1755–1830), in 1810 by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
  • Carl Friedrich Gauss
    Carl Friedrich Gauss
    Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics.Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum...

     (1777–1855),
  • Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff
    Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff
    Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff was a German poet and novelist of the later German romantic school.Eichendorff is regarded as one of the most important German Romantics and his works have sustained high popularity in Germany from production to the present day.-Life:Eichendorff was born at Schloß...

     (1788–1857), in 1841 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia
    Frederick William IV of Prussia
    |align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...

  • Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
    Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
    Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve was a Danish-Baltic German astronomer from a famous dynasty.-Life:...

     (1793–1864), in 1856 by Emperor Alexander II of Russia
    Alexander II of Russia
    Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...

  • Johann Gustav Stickel
    Johann Gustav Stickel
    Johann Gustav Stickel was a German theologian, orientalist and numismatist.- Biography :Stickel was born in Eisenach in 1805. He went to school in Buttelstedt and in Weimar. In his youth he demonstrated a gift for the Hebrew language...

     (1805-1896), Charles Frederick
    Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
    Charles Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was a Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.-Biography:Born in Weimar, he was the eldest son of Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Luise Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt.Charles Frederick succeeded his famous father as Grand Duke...

    , Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
    Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
    The Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach was created in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach. It was raised to a Grand duchy in 1815 by resolution of the Vienna Congress. In 1877, it officially changed its name to the Grand Duchy of Saxony , but this name was...

  • Heinrich von Stephan
    Heinrich von Stephan
    Heinrich von Stephan was a general post director for the German Empire who reorganized the German postal service. He was integral in the founding of the Universal Postal Union in 1874, and in 1877 introduced the telephone to Germany.Stephan was born in Stolp , Pomerania, in the Kingdom of Prussia...

     (1831–1897), in 1868 by King Wilhelm I of Prussia
  • Felix Draeseke
    Felix Draeseke
    Felix August Bernhard Draeseke was a composer of the "New German School" admiring Liszt and Richard Wagner. He wrote compositions in most forms including eight operas and stage works, four symphonies, and much vocal and chamber music.-Life:Felix Draeseke was born in the Franconian ducal town of...

     (1835–1913), in 1906 by King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
    Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
    This article is about King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. For the elector Frederick Augustus III, see Frederick Augustus I of Saxony.Frederick Augustus III was the last King of Saxony and a member of the House of Wettin.Born in Dresden, Frederick Augustus was the son of King George of Saxony...

  • Richard Assmann
    Richard Assmann
    Richard Assmann ; was a German meteorologist and physician who was a native of Magdeburg....

     (1845–1918), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Felix Klein
    Felix Klein
    Christian Felix Klein was a German mathematician, known for his work in group theory, function theory, non-Euclidean geometry, and on the connections between geometry and group theory...

     (1849–1925)
  • Adolf von Harnack
    Adolf von Harnack
    Adolf von Harnack , was a German theologian and prominent church historian.He produced many religious publications from 1873-1912....

     (1851–1930), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Friedrich Loeffler (1852–1915), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Georg von Schanz
    Georg von Schanz
    Georg von Schanz was a German legal scholar. He originally developed a definition of income, now known as Haig-Simons income.-References:...

     (1853–1931), in 1914 by King Ludwig III of Bavaria
    Ludwig III of Bavaria
    Ludwig III , was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918.-Early life:...

  • Emil Adolf von Behring
    Emil Adolf von Behring
    Emil Adolf von Behring was a German physiologist who received the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first one so awarded.-Biography:...

     (1854–1917), in 1903 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Paul Ehrlich
    Paul Ehrlich
    Paul Ehrlich was a German scientist in the fields of hematology, immunology, and chemotherapy, and Nobel laureate. He is noted for curing syphilis and for his research in autoimmunity, calling it "horror autotoxicus"...

     (1854–1915), in 1911 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Ferdinand Tönnies
    Ferdinand Tönnies
    Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist. He was a major contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for his distinction between two types of social groups, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft...

     (1855–1936), in 1917 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Theodor Curtius
    Theodor Curtius
    - External links :* * * *...

     (1857–1928), in 1895 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Max Planck
    Max Planck
    Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came...

     (1858–1947), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Alfred Hugenberg
    Alfred Hugenberg
    Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg was an influential German businessman and politician. Hugenberg, a leading figure within nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, became the country's leading media proprietor within the inter-war period...

     (1865–1951), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
  • Leo Maximilian Baginski
    Leo Maximilian Baginski
    Leo Maximilan Baginski, known as Max Baginski was a German entrepreneur, inventor and marketing specialist. He invented the „Spalt“-tablet, an analgesic bearing a characteristic split-mark. He donated the funds for building the Catholic parish church of St...

     (1891–1964), in 1919 by Prince Albert of Thurn and Taxis
  • Ferdinand Sauerbruch
    Ferdinand Sauerbruch
    Ernst Ferdinand Sauerbruch was a German surgeon.Sauerbruch was born in Barmen , Germany. He studied medicine at the Philipps University of Marburg, the University of Greifswald, the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, and the University of Leipzig, from the last of which he graduated in 1902...

    (1875–1951)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK