First Luther cabinet
The first Luther cabinet, headed by the political independent Hans Luther, was the 12th democratically elected government of the Weimar Republic. It took office on 15 January 1925, replacing the second cabinet of Wilhelm Marx, which had resigned when Marx was unable to form a new coalition following the December 1924 Reichstag election. Luther's cabinet was made up of a loose coalition of five parties ranging from the German Democratic Party (DDP) on the left to the German National People's Party (DNVP) on the right.
First Cabinet of Hans Luther | |
|---|---|
12th Cabinet of Weimar Germany | |
| 15 January 1925 – 5 December 1925 (until 20 January 1926 as caretaker government) | |
Members of cabinet | |
| Date formed | 15 January 1925 |
| Date dissolved | 20 January 1926 (1 year and 5 days) |
| People and organisations | |
| President | Friedrich Ebert (until 28 February 1925) Paul von Hindenburg (from 12 May 1925) |
| Chancellor | Hans Luther |
| Member parties | Centre Party German National People's Party (to 26 October) German People's Party German Democratic Party Bavarian People's Party |
| Status in legislature | Majority coalition government 274 / 493 (56%) Minority coalition government171 / 493 (35%) |
| Opposition parties | Communist Party Nazi Party |
| History | |
| Election(s) | December 1924 federal election |
| Legislature term(s) | 3rd Reichstag of the Weimar Republic |
| Predecessor | Second Marx cabinet |
| Successor | Second Luther cabinet |
The cabinet's primary achievement was negotiating the Locarno Treaties and then seeing them approved by the Reichstag. The main pact secured Germany's post-World War I borders in the west with the stipulation that it not use force to change them.
The DNVP, the largest parliamentary party in the coalition, withdrew from the cabinet on 26 October 1925 in protest against the Treaties. Four days after they were formally signed on 1 December, Luther resigned with his cabinet in order to try to rebuild a majority government. The cabinet remained in office in a caretaker capacity until he formed his second cabinet on 20 January 1926.