Germany's Cabinet Brüning I (1930): Finance Minister Paul Moldenhauer standing in the second row, second from the right
Ministry of Finance (Reichsministerium der Finanzen) at the Wilhelmplatz in Berlin (1930)
Germany’s Government under Brüning 31 March 1930: seated from left to right interior minister (DDP), chancellor Brüning, foreign minister Julius Curtius (DVP), postal minister Georg Schätzel (Bayerische Volkspartei, BVP), standing from left to right: minister for Elsass-Lothringen Gottfried Treviranus, Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus (Konservative Volkspartei), minister for agriculture Martin Schiele
Martin Schiele (17 January 1870 – 16 February 1939) was a German Nationalism, nationalist politician. He was part of the leadership of the German National People's Party (DNVP) from its 1918 founding until Alfred Hugenberg became leader i ...
(DNVP), minister for justice Johann Viktor Bredt
Johann Viktor Bredt (2 March 1879 – 1 December 1940) was a German jurist and politician. He served as Minister of Justice of the Weimar Republic in 1930/1.
Biography
Bredt was born in Barmen on 2 March 1879 as the only son of Viktor Richard Bre ...
(Wirtschaftspartei
The Reich Party of the German Middle Class (german: Reichspartei des deutschen Mittelstandes), known from 1920 to 1925 as the Economic Party of the German Middle Classes (german: Wirtschaftspartei des deutschen Mittelstandes), was a conservative G ...
), labour minister Adam Stegerwald (Zentrum), minister of finance Paul Moldenhauer (DVP), traffic minister Theodor von Guérard (Zentrum). Defence minister
Wilhelm Groener
Karl Eduard Wilhelm Groener (; 22 November 1867 – 3 May 1939) was a German general and politician. His organisational and logistical abilities resulted in a successful military career before and during World War I.
After a confrontation wi ...
missing from picture
Paul Moldenhauer (2 December 1876 in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
– 1 February 1947) was a German cabinet minister, lawyer, economist and politician (
DVP DVP may refer to:
* ''decessit vita patris'', "died in the lifetime of his father", term used by genealogists to denote a child who pre-deceased his or her father and did not live long enough to inherit the father's title or estate.
* Delivery versu ...
). He served as a German congressman (reichstagsabgeordneter) 1920-1932 and was German Minister of Finance and Minister of Trade and Industry in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Biography
Paul Moldenhauer was born in 1876 in Cologne. He studied jurisprudence and political science at the
University of Bonn
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...
. In 1897 he commenced doctoral studies at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
where he was awarded his Ph.D. in 1899. He also obtained a degree in insurance studies, which at this time was a relatively new and growing subject area. Moldenhauer was thereafter active in the insurance industry until 1902 in Aachen and in Cologne. In 1901 he habilitated (became a Professor Doctor) in insurance studies at the University of Cologne, where he became a member of the faculty of economics.
After the Great War, Moldenhauer returned to the University of Cologne as a faculty member. He also became active in politics and engaged himself in the post-war socio-economical debate. He undertook several trips to the United States and to England, where he established good relations with academics at leading universities including Princeton, Harvard and Cambridge. Notably, he maintained a dialogue with
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
concerning stimulative fiscal policy.
Moldenhauer was elected in 1919 to the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n parliament in Berlin, and in 1920 to the parliament of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. He remained a member of parliament until June 1930, when he resigned from his post as minister of finance together with several other cabinet ministers following disagreements within the government of
Heinrich Brüning
Heinrich Aloysius Maria Elisabeth Brüning (; 26 November 1885 – 30 March 1970) was a German Centre Party politician and academic, who served as the chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932.
A political scienti ...
regarding the economic and financial policy.
Following his time as a cabinet member and minister of finance, Moldenhauer returned to academia as a professor at the University of Berlin, and later as a board member of companies including
Friedrich Krupp AG
The Krupp family (see #Pronunciation, pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (F ...
,
Gerling Versicherungs-AG, and
Bayer AG
Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutica ...
.
Paul Moldenhauer was dedicated to stabilising Germany's economy and its relations with France, Great Britain and the United States, and was a leading delegate at the Disarmament Conferences in Den Haag 1930 and Geneva 1932.
Finance Minister of Germany
On 11 November 1928, Moldenhauer was appointed cabinet member and
Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce.
Notable examples are:
List
*Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
(') in Chancellor
Hermann Müller’s government. Following a cabinet reshuffle he was subsequently appointed
minister of finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
''(Reichsminister der Finanzen)''. Following Müller’s resignation as Chancellor, Moldenhauer stayed on as minister of finance also in the coalition government of
Heinrich Brüning
Heinrich Aloysius Maria Elisabeth Brüning (; 26 November 1885 – 30 March 1970) was a German Centre Party politician and academic, who served as the chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932.
A political scienti ...
.
Germany's economy was burdened by the enormous war reparations imposed by France in 1921, which were the main factor causing the hyperinflation 1922-23. Between 1923 and 1926,
German Delegate to Disarmament Conventions in Geneva and Den Haag
Paul Moldenhauer was dedicated to stabilising Germany's economy and its relations with France, Great Britain and the United States, and his policies under the Müller government were orientated toward reconciliation and normalisation. Together with Müller, Stresemann and von Schubert, and subsequently Brüning, Curtius and von Bülow, Finance Minister Moldenhauer was a leading delegate at the Disarmament Conferences in Geneva and Den Haag.
Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13087, Berlin, Abreise zur Abrüstungskonferenz.jpg, The German delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Geneva 1932
Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-08967,_Abreise_deutscher_Delegation_zur_Haager_Konferenz.jpg, The German delegation to the Disarmament Conference in Den Haag 1930
Bundesarchiv Bild 102-08491, Genf, Einritt Deutschlands in den Völkerbund.jpg, Germany accepted into the League of Nations in Geneva 1926
Works
* ''Das Versicherungswesen'', 1905/12, I, 1925, II, 1923
* ''Die Aufsicht über die privaten Versicherungsunternehmungen'', 1903
* ''Die industriellen und landwirtschaftlichen Haftpflichtversicherungsverbände'', 1907
* ''Internationale Fortschritte der Sozialversicherung'', 1912
* ''Von der Revolution zur Nationalversammlung, Die Frage der rheinisch-westfälischen Republik'', 1919
* ''Die rheinische Republik'', 1920
* ''Grenzgebiete zwischen Feuer- und Transportversicherung'', 1921
* ''Das Londoner Abkommen und die deutsche Volkswirtschaft'', 1924
* ''Der künftige Kurs der deutschen Sozialpolitik'', 1926
* ''Internationale Sozialpolitik'', 1927
External links
Kurzbiographie in den Akten der Reichskanzlei
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moldenhauer, Paul
1876 births
1947 deaths
Jurists from Cologne
Finance ministers of Germany
University of Göttingen alumni
University of Bonn alumni
German People's Party politicians
German Protestants
Politicians from Cologne