The German Imperial Naval Cabinet (german: Marinekabinett), a government office of the German Imperial Navy, 1871-1918, was responsible for commanding naval officers, marine officers, engineers, naval stores, and munitions. In 1889

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

reorganised top-level control of the Navy by establishing a Navy Cabinet (''Marine-Kabinett''), equivalent to the

German Imperial Military Cabinet The Military Cabinet (''Militärkabinett'') was a military advisory body under the direct command of the King of Prussia, and by extension the German Emperor after 1871, for handling personnel matters of the army officer corps. It emerged fro ...

which had previously functioned in the same capacity for both the army and navy. The Head of the navy cabinet was responsible for promotions, appointments, administration and issuing orders to naval forces. Captain Gustav Freiherr von Senden-Bibran, appointed as its first head, remained in office until 1906. The existing Imperial admiralty was abolished in 1889 and its responsibilities divided between two organizations. A new position was created, the chief of the Imperial Naval High Command, being responsible for ship deployments, strategy and tactics. The holder of the title was equivalent to the supreme commander of the Army. The Naval Cabinet became, in practice, the decisive authority in personnel matters for naval officers. It was directly subordinate to the Emperor and not accountable to the '' Reichstag''. The Chief of the Naval Cabinet was always a high naval officer who also acted as an adjutant to the Emperor. The first Chief of the Naval Cabinet (1889 to 1906) was Admiral Baron

Gustav von Senden-Bibran Gustav Freiherr (Baron) von Senden-Bibran (23 July 1847, Reisicht, Lower Silesia, Germany – 23 November 1909 in Berlin) was an admiral of the German Imperial Navy. Biography His father was a Silesian landowner who had served in the Austr ...

. Admiral

Georg Alexander von Müller Georg Alexander von Müller (24 March 1854 – 18 April 1940) was an Admiral of the Imperial German Navy and a close friend of the Kaiser in the run up to the First World War. Career Müller grew up in Sweden, where his father worked as a pro ...

succeeded him and served until 1918. The Cabinet also functioned as the naval cabinet of Prussia. In December 1918 the Cabinet became the Reich Naval Personnel Office 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 ...

.Craig 1978, pp. 524-525.

Chiefs of the Naval Cabinet (''Chef des Marinekabinetts'')

References

{{germany-mil-stub Imperial German Navy Naval history of Germany