''Geheimrat'' was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or princely courts of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in German-speaking areas of Europe until the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. At its origin the literal meaning of the word in German was 'trusted advisor' - the word "geheim" (secret) implying that such an advisor could be trusted with the Monarch's secrets (similar to "secretary" in English being linguistically related to "secret"). The English-language equivalent is

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, 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 mo ...

. The office contributing to the state's politics and legislation had its roots in the age of

absolutism Absolutism may refer to: Government * Absolute monarchy, in which a monarch rules free of laws or legally organized opposition * Absolutism (European history), period c. 1610 – c. 1789 in Europe ** Enlightened absolutism, influenced by the En ...

from the 17th century onward, when a governmental administration by a dependent

bureaucracy The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...

was established similar to the French '' Conseil du Roi''. A precursor was the ''

Reichshofrat The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juri ...

'', a judicial body established by Emperor

Maximilian I of Habsburg Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...

. In

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

the professional title of ''Hofrat'' (Court Councillor) has remained in use as an official title for deserved civil servants up to today. With the Empire's dissolution and the rise of Constitutionalism in the aftermath of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, the office of a ''Geheimrat'' became an honorific title conferred by the German states upon high officials, accompanied by the address '' Exzellenz''. During that period related titles no longer affiliated with an office arose, like , an award for outstanding contributions in the field of commerce and industry, or ', an award for outstanding contributions to medicine. The term is also used in combination with the word ''Ecke'' – , colloquially describing male pattern baldness at the 'edges' of the forehead (i.e. the upper 'corners' of the face). In the

Republic of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine States of Austria, states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, th ...

the title was officially abolished in 1919. In Germany, the title largely disappeared after the fall of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1918, when the various princely states of Germany were replaced by the constituent states 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 republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

, although ''Geheimräte'' continued to be appointed by the

Free State of Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total la ...

. However, many honorees continued to use it, and the title Geheimrat, its abbreviation and related abbreviations (, and even ) appear in captions until the 1930s, such as used by the

German Federal Archives , type = Archive , seal = , seal_size = , seal_caption = , seal_alt = , logo = Bundesarchiv-Logo.svg , logo_size = , logo_caption = , lo ...

.Mitglieder, welchen die Ehrengabe verliehen wurde
. ''Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics'' (February 1993). Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer. (print), 1432-0711 (online); vol. 156, no. 1–2. DOI 10.1007/BF01790506. p. XV

Notable ''Geheimräte''

Nicholas Remy Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and i ...

(1530–1616), title bestowed in 1575 by Duke

Charles III of Lorraine Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark. In 1545, his father died, and ...

Raimondo Montecuccoli Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy. Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier ...

(1609–1680), in 1660 by Emperor Leopold I *

Gottfried Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathem ...

(1646–1716), in 1678 by Duke John Frederick of Brunswick-Calenberg * Andrey Osterman (1686–1747), in 1721 by Emperor

Peter I of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from ...

* Emerich de Vattel (1714–1767), in 1758 by Elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony *

Mathias Franz Graf von Chorinsky Freiherr von Ledske cz, Matyáš František hrabě Chorinský svobodný pán z Ledské , noble family = House of Chorinsky (Chorinský)House of Ledske (Ledská) , house-type = Dynasty , father = Franz Karl Baron of Chorinsky and Led ...

(1720–1786), in 1778 by Empress regnant

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

of the Holy Roman EmpireÖsterreichische Staatsarchiv (ÖStA) (Austrian State Archives (ÖStA)); Allgemeines Adelsarchiv der österreichischen Monarchie (General Archive of Nobility of the Austrian Monarchy), Author: Karl Friedrich Benjamin Leupold, Publisher: Hoffmeister, Wien (Vienne), 1789, Volume 1, Issue 2, Page 179-184, in German. *

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

(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 Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

(1777–1855), * Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788–1857), in 1841 by King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

* Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (1793–1864), in 1856 by Emperor

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...

* Johann Gustav Stickel (1805-1896), Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was ra ...

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Associat ...

(1821–1894) *

Heinrich von Stephan Ernst Heinrich Wilhelm von Stephan (born Heinrich Stephan, January 7, 1831 – April 8, 1897) 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 ...

(1831–1897), in 1868 by King

Wilhelm I of Prussia William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was th ...

* Felix Draeseke (1835–1913), in 1906 by King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony *

Richard Assmann Richard Assmann (Anglicized spelling of the German name Richard Aßmann) (13 April 1845 in Magdeburg – 28 May 1918 in Gießen) was a German meteorologist and physician who was a native of Magdeburg. He made numerous contributions in high altit ...

(1845–1918), by German emperor King

Wilhelm II of Prussia Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

* Felix Klein (1849–1925) * Ignaz Bing (1840–1918), industrialist and naturalist, Geh. Kommerzienrat *

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credite ...

(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 (12 March 1853 – 19 December 1931) was a German legal scholar. He originally developed a definition of income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is ge ...

(1853–1931), in 1914 by King Ludwig III of Bavaria * Emil Adolf von Behring (1854–1917), in 1903 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia *

Paul Ehrlich Paul Ehrlich (; 14 March 1854 – 20 August 1915) was a Nobel Prize-winning German physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology, and antimicrobial chemotherapy. Among his foremost achievements were finding a cure ...

(1854–1915), in 1911 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia *

Ferdinand Tönnies Ferdinand Tönnies (; 26 July 1855 – 9 April 1936) was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social g ...

(1855–1936), in 1917 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia *

Theodor Curtius ''Geheimrat'' Julius Wilhelm Theodor Curtius (27 May 1857 – 8 February 1928) was professor of Chemistry at Heidelberg University and elsewhere. He published the Curtius rearrangement in 1890/1894 and also discovered diazoacetic acid, hydra ...

(1857–1928), in 1895 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia *

Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...

(1858–1947), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia *

Alfred Hugenberg Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...

(1865–1951), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia *

Leo Maximilian Baginski Leo Maximilan Baginski, known as Max Baginski (born June 7, 1891 in Kolmar (now Chodzież), Province of Posen; died March 19, 1964 in Locarno, Switzerland) was a German entrepreneur, inventor and marketing specialist. He invented the „Spalt“-t ...

(1891–1964), in 1919 by Prince Albert of Thurn and Taxis *

August Bier August Karl Gustav Bier (24 November 1861 – 12 March 1949) was a German surgeon. He was the first to perform spinal anesthesia and intravenous regional anesthesia. Early medical career Bier began his medical education at the Charité – Un ...

(18611949), by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia * Ferdinand Sauerbruch (1875–1951) * Gottfried von Schmitt (1827-1908), title given in 1888 by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria * Josef von Schmitt (1838-1907), title given in 1896 by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria

References

{{Authority control Legal history of Germany Government of the Holy Roman Empire ko:추밀원

Notable ''Geheimräte''

See also

References