Friedrich von Payer

Who was Friedrich von Payer?

Friedrich von Payer was a German lawyer, liberal politician and vice-chancellor of Germany during the last year of World War I. He was born in Tübingen and was educated at the seminary at Blaubeuren, returning to his home town to study law in 1865. Having completed his university education, he worked as a lawyer in Stuttgart and was first elected to the Reichstag in 1877. He reached the height of his political power during the First World War, during which he advocated a negotiated peace with the allied powers and was appointed vice-chancellor. After the War, he was chairman of the DDP, and remained a member of the new Weimar Reichstag until 6 June 1920.