German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first President of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925. He was genial, and a fluent speaker and writer.
Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on the death in 1913 of August Bebel. In 1914, shortly after he assumed leadership, the party became deeply divided over Ebert’s support of war loans to finance the German war effort in World War I. A moderate social democrat, Ebert was in favour of the Burgfrieden, a political policy that sought to suppress squabbles over domestic issues among political parties during wartime in order to concentrate all forces in society on the successful conclusion of the war effort. He tried to isolate those in the party opposed to the war, but could not prevent a split.
Ebert was a pivotal figure in the German Revolution of 1918–19. When Germany became a republic at the end of World War I, he became its first chancellor by an overwhelming majority vote. His policies at that time were primarily aimed at restoring peace and order in Germany and containing the more extreme elements of the revolutionary left. In order to accomplish these goals, he allied himself with conservative and nationalistic political forces, in particular the leadership of the military under General Wilhelm Groener and the right wing Freikorps. With their help, Ebert’s government crushed a number of socialist and communist uprisings as well as such from the right, including the Kapp Putsch. This has made him a controversial historical figure.
In May 1894, he married Louise Rump (1873–1955), a manual labourer, who had been employed as a housemaid and in labelling boxes and who was active in union work. They had five children.
Ebert experienced the traumatic loss of having two of his four sons killed in the war: Heinrich died in February 1917 in Macedonia, whereas Georg was killed in action in May 1917 in France.
He had an appendix operation on 24 February 1925, and died of peritonitis three days later on 27 February 1925, at 3:03 AM, in Berlin, Germany.
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