born Nov. 29, 1856, Hohenfinow, Prussia
died Jan. 1, 1921, Hohenfinow, Germany
German politician and chancellor (1909–17).
A member of the civil service, he was appointed Prussian minister of the interior in 1905 and became German chancellor in 1909. Before World War I, he allowed the militarist factions to dominate the government; in 1914 he supported a "blank check" to Austria-Hungary for measures against Serbia. In 1916 he tried to secure the mediation of the U.S. to end the war, but he also failed to restrict submarine warfare. In 1917 he angered conservatives by promises of electoral reforms in Prussia and was forced to resign.
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, detail from a portrait by Brant, 1909.
Archiv fur Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin