Biography
Born in Berlin, Luther started in politics in 1907 by becoming the town councillor in Magdeburg. He continued on becoming secretary of the German Städtetag in 1913 and then mayor of Essen in 1918. In December 1922, Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno appointed Luther minister of Food and Agriculture.
He kept his position in 1924 when Wilhelm Marx became Chancellor. In 1925, he was appointed Chancellor of Germany, but Marx resumed office the following year. Luther also briefly acted as head of state following the death of Friedrich Ebert.
In 1930, Hans Luther was made president of Reichsbank. Soon after he was made German ambassador to the United States, a position he held from 1933 to 1937, after which he retired.
In 1933 Luther, lectured at the Columbia University campus. Luther's speech stressed Hitler's "peaceful intentions" toward his European neighbors. Nicholas Murray Butler, Columbia's president, rejected student appeals to cancel the invitation, calling the request "illiberal" and citing the need for academic freedom.
After the Second World War, Luther came out of retirement to become an advisor for the new government.
He died in Düsseldorf.
Read more about this topic: Hans Luther
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