Ebert, Friedrich

Ebert, Friedrich (1871-1925), German socialist leader and president of the post-World War I Weimar Republic. Born in Heidelberg, Ebert was a saddler before becoming involved in politics. He was elected to the Reichstag as a Social Democrat in 1912 and a year later became the recognized leader of his party. During World War I he led the majority wing of the Social Democratic party in the Reichstag in supporting a policy of national defence, a negotiated peace, and a liberalized monarchy. When Emperor William II fled (November 1918) the country amid defeat and revolutionary turmoil, Ebert briefly served as the last chancellor of the German Empire.

A republic was proclaimed on November 10, and he became its head of government, suppressing revolts by the extreme left Spartakists. When the Weimar constitution was adopted in 1919, he was elected to the presidency. As head of state, he provided some continuity as one government followed another in quick succession during the troubled early Weimar years, managing to survive in the face of insurrections by the left and right, calamitous inflation, and the occupation of the Ruhr by the French. Ebert died in the midst of a campaign against him by right-wing critics and was succeeded by Marshal Paul von Hindenburg.