1919 German presidential election

None March 2025 1919 German presidential election Weimar Republic presidential no 1925 German presidential election 1925 11 February 1919 Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00015, Friedrich Ebert.jpg 190 115 145 9 57 Friedrich Ebert Social Democratic Party of Germany 277 84.45% Nicola Perscheid - Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner.jpg 175 115 145 7 21 Arthur von Posadowsky‑Wehner German National People's Party 49 14.94% President Friedrich Ebert Social Democratic Party of Germany The 1919 German presidential election (de Reichspräsidentenwahl) was the first election to the office of President of the Reich (de Reichspräsident), Germany's head of state during the 1919−1933 Weimar Republic. The constitution that stipulated a direct popular vote was not completed before 11 August 1919. Because a head of state was needed immediately the 1919 presidential election was held indirectly, by the National Assembly, on 11 February 1919. The winner was SPD chairman Friedrich Ebert, who beat former (Imperial) Secretary of the Interior Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner in the first round of voting by 277 to 49 votes. Ebert was supported by the SPD, the German Centre Party and the German Democratic Party (DDP), the parties of the "Weimar Coalition", which held more than 77 per cent of the seats in the National Assembly. He became President of Germany, holding the office until his death in 1925.Germany's National Assembly: Story of the Historic Gathering at Weimar Which Shaped the Machinery of the Provisional Republic Current History 1919 9 3 433 https://www.jstor.org/stable/45328724?seq=5 7 March 2025 2641-080XMarch 2025 With the subsequent 1925 and 1932 German presidential elections held with direct universal suffrage, this election would be the sole indirect presidential election held until the end of World War II. Further, Ebert would also remain the sole Social Democrat elected President of Germany until the election of Gustav Heinemann in 1969, and the only socialist to serve in that position between 1919 and the end of the war in 1945. Results Candidate (Party) Supported by Votes % Friedrich Ebert (SPD)SPD, DDP, Zentrum27784.45 % Arthur Graf von Posadowsky-Wehner (DNVP)DNVP4914.94 % Philipp Scheidemann (SPD)N/A10.30 % Matthias Erzberger (Zentrum)10.30 % Valid votes32886.54 % Invalid votes5113.46 % Cast votes379100.0 % Delegates eligible to vote / Turnout42389.60 % References See also History of Germany 1919 Category:1919 elections in Germany Category:Federal elections in the Weimar Republic Category:February 1919 in Europe