How a Catholic philosopher became the first party politician to lead the German Empire

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Georg von Hertling was an unlikely choice for Imperial Chancellor. A conservative Catholic academic who preferred the lecture hall to the Reichstag, he became the first party politician to hold the dual offices of German Chancellor and Prussian Minister President, navigating a crumbling empire during the final, desperate year of World War I.

Born in 1843, Georg von Hertling was a man of the cloth in spirit before he became a man of the state. Educated in philosophy and deeply influenced by his Catholic faith, he spent decades as an academic and a leader within the Centre Party. His career was defined by the Kulturkampf, a period of intense friction between the Prussian state and the Catholic Church, which delayed his professorial appointments for years. This experience cemented his role as a defender of Catholic interests, leading him to co-found the Görres Society and champion Catholic student fraternities.

Hertling’s transition to high office began in Bavaria, where he served as minister president starting in 1912. His appointment marked a shift toward parliamentarization, as he was the first head of government chosen from the majority party in the state parliament rather than being a career civil servant or military officer. By 1917, with the German Reich in the throes of war and the resignation of Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, the political landscape forced the aging, 74-year-old Hertling into the chancellorship.

His tenure was a study in contradictions. While he personally resisted the shift toward parliamentary democracy—fearing it would weaken the emperor and empower the Social Democratic Party—his government inadvertently accelerated that very process. He was forced to negotiate his legislative agenda with the Reichstag majority, a practice that accustomed the political class to proto-parliamentary governance. Ultimately, he was caught between a military command that hid the reality of the war’s hopelessness and a political coalition demanding peace and reform. When the Supreme Army Command finally sought to offload the responsibility for defeat onto democratic parties, Hertling’s position became untenable, leading to his resignation in September 1918.

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