Wilhelm Carl Josef Cuno (July 2, 1876 - January 3, 1933) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
who was the
Chancellor of Germany from 1922 to 1923. He was born in
Suhl- Geography :Suhl sits on the south edge of the Suhler Scholle, an upthrust granite complex that is streaked by numerous dikes. This is part of the Ruhla-Schleusingen Horst that defines the southwest side of the Thuringian Forest...
,
Prussian SaxonyThe Province of Saxony was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.-History:The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:...
. Cuno's government is best known for its passive resistance of the French occupation of the
Ruhr AreaThe Ruhr is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
(1922-1923). Cuno's government was also responsible for its poor handling of economic problems. In order to pay off the state's debts, the government under Cuno printed vast amounts of money, leading to
hyperinflationIn economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or "out of control", a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its value....
which peaked in the summer of 1923.
Cuno received education as a lawyer in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and
HeidelbergHeidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2008, over 145,000 people live within the city's area. Heidelberg is a unitary authority...
.
Wilhelm Carl Josef Cuno (July 2, 1876 - January 3, 1933) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
who was the
Chancellor of Germany from 1922 to 1923. He was born in
Suhl- Geography :Suhl sits on the south edge of the Suhler Scholle, an upthrust granite complex that is streaked by numerous dikes. This is part of the Ruhla-Schleusingen Horst that defines the southwest side of the Thuringian Forest...
,
Prussian SaxonyThe Province of Saxony was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.-History:The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:...
. Cuno's government is best known for its passive resistance of the French occupation of the
Ruhr AreaThe Ruhr is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
(1922-1923). Cuno's government was also responsible for its poor handling of economic problems. In order to pay off the state's debts, the government under Cuno printed vast amounts of money, leading to
hyperinflationIn economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or "out of control", a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its value....
which peaked in the summer of 1923.
Cuno received education as a lawyer in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and
HeidelbergHeidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2008, over 145,000 people live within the city's area. Heidelberg is a unitary authority...
. He was employed by the Reich Treasury Department in 1907. During
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
Cuno was involved in arrangements for food supplies for the German army, but quit civil service to join the
HapagThe Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was an enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany in 1847 for shipping across the Atlantic Ocean...
shipping company in 1917. In December 1918 Cuno was promoted to the Hapag's general director. As an economic expert Cuno participated in the post-war negotiations on reparations and peace terms. The importance of his position as Hapag executive increased after the company became one of the leading shippers of goods between the U.S. and Germany.
Informally representing the interests of the Reich government abroad, Cuno rejected several proposals to assume the post of foreign minister, but agreed to form the Cabinet after the resignation of
Joseph WirthKarl Joseph Wirth, known as Joseph Wirth, was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922...
. Cuno was appointed Reich Chancellor on November 22, 1922, by presidential decree and formed a government mostly composed of non-party economists and members of the
German People's PartyThe German People's Party was a liberal-nationalist party in Germany.It was essentially the right wing of the old National Liberal Party, and was formed in the early days of the Weimar Republic, led by Gustav Stresemann....
,
German Democratic PartyThe German Democratic Party, or , was founded by leaders of the former Progressive People's Party and the left wing of the National Liberal Party in the early days of the Weimar Republic...
, German Center Party and
Bavarian People's PartyThe Bavarian People's Party was the Bavarian branch of the Centre Party, which broke off from the rest of the party in 1919 to pursue a more conservative, more Catholic, more Bavarian particularist course...
.
After the downfall of his government, Cuno retired from politics and returned to the management of HAPAG.
He was a member of K.D.St.V. Arminia Heidelberg, a catholic student fraternity that is member of the
CartellverbandThe Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen or Cartellverband is a German umbrella organization of Catholic male student fraternities .-Foundation:...
.
Cabinet, November 1922 - August 1923
- Wilhelm Cuno - Chancellor
- Frederic Hans von Rosenberg
Frederic "Hans" von Rosenberg was a German politician.He was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1922 to 1923 under Wilhelm Cuno...
- Foreign MinisterThe Foreign Minister of Germany is the head of the Foreign Office and a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The current office holder is Frank-Walter Steinmeier...
- Rudolf Oeser (DDP
The German Democratic Party, or , was founded by leaders of the former Progressive People's Party and the left wing of the National Liberal Party in the early days of the Weimar Republic...
) - Interior Minister
- Andreas Hermes
Andreas Hermes was a German Christian Democratic Union politician, agricultural scientist and a member of the resistance to Nazism....
(ZThe German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic...
) - Finance Minister
- Johannes Becker (DVP
The German People's Party was a liberal-nationalist party in Germany.It was essentially the right wing of the old National Liberal Party, and was formed in the early days of the Weimar Republic, led by Gustav Stresemann....
) - Economics Minister
- Heinrich Brauns (Z) - Labour Minister
- Rudolf Heinze
Karl Rudolf Heinze was a German jurist and politician. He was Vice-Chancellor of Germany and Minister of Justice from 1922 to 1923 under Wilhelm Cuno....
(DVP) - Justice Minister
- Otto Gessler
Otto Karl Gessler was a German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in Weimar cabinets from 1919 until 1928, usually as Minister of Defence.- Biography :Gessler was born in Ludwigsburg in the...
(DDP) - Defence Minister
- Karl Stingl (BVP
The Bavarian People's Party was the Bavarian branch of the Centre Party, which broke off from the rest of the party in 1919 to pursue a more conservative, more Catholic, more Bavarian particularist course...
) - Postal Minister
- Wilhelm Groener
Karl Eduard Wilhelm Groener was a German soldier and politician.-Biography:He was born in Ludwigsburg, Württemberg, the son of a regimental paymaster. He entered the Württemberg Army in 1884, and attended the War Academy from 1893 until 1897, whereupon he was appointed to the General Staff...
- Transport Minister
- Hans Luther
Hans Luther was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany.-Biography:Born in Berlin, Luther started in politics in 1907 by becoming the town councillor in Magdeburg. He continued on becoming secretary of the German Städtetag in 1913 and then mayor of Essen in 1918...
- Food Minister
- Heinrich Albert
Heinrich Friedrich Albert was a German lawyer who served as commercial attaché to German Ambassador to the United States Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff during World War I...
- Treasury and Reconstruction Minister
Source: Lebendiges virtuelles Museum online