Wilhelm August von Breitling

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Wilhelm August von Breitling

Wilhelm August Breitling , from 1885 from Breitling , (born January 4, 1835 in Gaildorf ; † April 20, 1914 in Stuttgart ) was a German lawyer . From 1901 to 1906 he was Prime Minister of Württemberg ( President of the State Ministry ).

Life

Origin, youth and studies

Wilhelm Breitling was born on January 4, 1835 in Gaildorf as the first child of Paul Breitling (1798–1867) and Karoline Breitling (née Wucherer). He was baptized Protestant . Breitling's paternal grandfather was the court confectioner Jakob Friedrich Breitling.

In 1835, Wilhelm Breitling's father was appointed chief magistrate in Göppingen . The family moved with their son Wilhelm into an official apartment in Göppingen Castle . There four more sons were born to the couple. In Esslingen , where his father was later appointed to the district court as a senior judicial officer, the young Wilhelm attended the pedagogy until he was 14 to prepare for the state examination. Successful completion of the state exam was a prerequisite for entry into the Evangelical-theological seminar in Blaubeuren Monastery . After passing the exam, Wilhelm Breitling was accepted into the seminar in October 1849. Since he wanted to study law and not theology from the start, he did not enter as a seminarian but as a hospes (guest).

After passing the high school diploma, he began studying law in Tübingen in the winter semester of 1853 and became a member of the Germania Tübingen fraternity in the same year . After successfully completing his law studies in Tübingen and Heidelberg , Breitling joined the Württemberg civil service and had worked at various court locations since 1860. In 1866 he married Lina (1846–1937), the daughter of the chief magistrate Friedrich Koch. He had three daughters from her.

Professional background

In 1883 Breitling became a lecturer in the Justice Department, and in 1887 he was promoted to director there. In 1889 he became a Real Councilor of State, as well as a member of the Privy Council and the Administrative Court. On September 16, 1896, he was appointed head of the Justice Department (Minister of Justice). He headed the Ministry of Justice until December 4, 1906. On April 15, 1901, Breitling also took over the management of the entire government of the Kingdom of Württemberg after his predecessor Max Schott von Schottenstein had to resign due to a scandal.

Breitling's appointment as President of the State Ministry was generally viewed as a temporary solution, as he was already 66 years old at the time, but the candidate Karl von Weizsäcker , who was also being considered for the office, appeared to be too inexperienced. As Minister of Justice, Breitling introduced the German Civil Code (BGB) in Württemberg, whereby some of the state's legal features were preserved. Breitling had previously participated in the drafting of the BGB itself. In addition to a tax and administrative reform, Breitling's government was dominated by a revision of the Württemberg constitution, through which the second chamber of the state parliament was converted into a pure people's chamber with 92 elected members. The previously privileged of the Second Chamber moved to the first Chamber, which ceased to be a pure organ of the nobility. The Breitling government remained, despite the beginnings of a way to a parliamentary monarchy under the long-standing Mittnacht government , a pure government of officials . According to the Württemberg constitution of 1819, the king alone had the right to appoint and dismiss ministers. And in this principle of a monarchical state, nothing changed in the liberal Württemberg until the Liesching government two days before the revolution.

Weizsäcker praised his predecessor Breitling as an excellent civil servant minister. Breitling said goodbye in December 1906, drawn by a stroke .

Honors, ennobling

  • 1885 Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Order of the Württemberg Crown , which was associated with the personal title of nobility
  • 1890 Commentary Cross, second class of the Order of Frederick
  • 1894 Commentary Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown
  • 1900 Grand Cross with Crown of the Order of Frederick
  • 1902 Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown
  • 1906 Awarded the diamonds to the Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 1: A-E. Winter, Heidelberg 1996, ISBN 3-8253-0339-X , p. 133.
  2. ↑ Court and State Handbook of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1886, p. 30
  3. ↑ Court and State Manual of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1894, p. 31
  4. ↑ Court and State Manual of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1901, p. 75
  5. ↑ Court and State Manual of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1907, p. 31
personal data
SURNAME Breitling, Wilhelm August von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Breitling, Wilhelm August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 4, 1835
PLACE OF BIRTH Gaildorf
DATE OF DEATH April 20, 1914
Place of death Stuttgart