Hermann Dietrich
(© Bundesarchiv Bild 146III-074-1)
1879-1954
- Baden’s Minister of External Affairs from 1918 to 1920
- Minister of Food and Agriculture and Reich Finance Minister
- Elected chairman of the German State Party in 1930
The jurist Hermann Dietrich started out in the National-Liberal Party. But in 1918, he helped found the DDP, becoming its uncontested leader in the state of Baden. He was a Member of the National Assembly and - from 1920 to 1933 - of the Reichstag. Between 1928 and 1932, he served in several cabinets, first as Minister of Food and Agriculture and then as Finance Minister under Brüning. In that role, he was responsible for the policy of deflation; this led many within his party to criticize him. In 1930, after the DDP merged with the Young German Order, he was elected Chairman of the German State Party. After his initial opposition to the Enabling Act, he voted for it in 1933 in order to protect his party colleagues working as civil servants. He helped set up the FDP in Baden-Württemberg after 1945.