Geheimrat

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Geheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the Geheimer Rat reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in German-speaking areas of Europe until the end of the First World War. At its origin the literal meaning of the word in German was 'trusted advisor'; the word "geheim" (secret) implies that such an advisor could be trusted with the Monarch's secrets (similar to "secretary" in English being linguistically related to "secret"). The English-language equivalent is Privy Councillor.

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The office contributing to the state's politics and legislation had its roots in the age of absolutism from the 17th century onward, when a governmental administration by a dependent bureaucracy was established similar to the French Conseil du Roi . A precursor was the Reichshofrat , a judicial body established by Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg. In Austria, the professional title of Hofrat (also Hofrath, Court Councillor) has remained in use as an official title for deserved civil servants up to today.

With the Empire's dissolution and the rise of Constitutionalism in the aftermath of the French Revolution, the office of a Geheimrat became an honorific title conferred by the German states upon high officials, accompanied by the address Exzellenz . During that period related titles no longer affiliated with an office arose, like Geheimer Kommerzienrat  [ de ], an award for outstanding contributions in the field of commerce and industry, or Geheimer Medizinalrat  [ de ], an award for outstanding contributions to medicine. The term is also used in combination with the word Ecke Geheimratsecke  [ de ], colloquially describing male pattern baldness at the 'edges' of the forehead (i.e. the upper 'corners' of the face).

In the Republic of Austria the title was officially abolished in 1919. In Germany, the title largely disappeared after the fall of the German Empire in 1918, when the various princely states of Germany were replaced by the constituent states of the Weimar Republic, although Geheimräte continued to be appointed by the Free State of Bavaria. However, many honorees continued to use it, and the title Geheimrat, its abbreviation Geh. Rat and related abbreviations (Geh. Med.-Rat, Geh. Ober-Med.-Rat and even Geh. Hofrat) appear in captions until the 1930s, such as used by the German Federal Archives. [1] [2]

Notable Geheimräte

BornDiedNameTitle given
15301616 Nicholas Remy in 1575 by Duke Charles III of Lorraine
16091680 Raimondo Montecuccoli in 1660 by Emperor Leopold I
16461716 Gottfried Leibniz in 1678 by Duke John Frederick of Brunswick-Calenberg
16841752 Philipp Otto von Grumbkow in 1710s
16861747 Andrey Osterman in 1721 by Emperor Peter I of Russia
17141767 Emerich de Vattel in 1758 by Elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony
17201786 Mathias Franz Graf von Chorinsky Freiherr von Ledske in 1778 by Empress regnant Maria Theresa of the Holy Roman Empire [3]
17491832 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1779 by Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar
17551830 Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring in 1810 by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
17771855 Carl Friedrich Gauss
17881857 Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff in 1841 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia
17931864 Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve in 1856 by Emperor Alexander II of Russia
18051896 Johann Gustav Stickel Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
18211894 Hermann von Helmholtz
18311897 Heinrich von Stephan in 1868 by King Wilhelm I of Prussia
18351913 Felix Draeseke in 1906 by King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
18451918 Richard Assmann by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18491925 Felix Klein
18401918 Ignaz Bing
18511930 Adolf von Harnack by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18521915 Friedrich Loeffler by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18531931 Georg von Schanz in 1914 by King Ludwig III of Bavaria
18541917 Emil Adolf von Behring in 1903 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18541915 Paul Ehrlich in 1911 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18551936 Ferdinand Tönnies in 1917 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18571928 Theodor Curtius in 1895 by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18581947 Max Planck by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18651951 Alfred Hugenberg by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia
18911964 Leo Maximilian Baginski in 1919 by Prince Albert of Thurn and Taxis
18611949 August Bier by German emperor King Wilhelm II of Prussia [4]
18751951 Ferdinand Sauerbruch
18271908 Gottfried von Schmitt in 1888 by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria
18381907 Josef von Schmitt in 1896 by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria

See also

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References

  1. "Bundesarchiv – Picture database: Picture archive". Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  2. "Mitglieder, welchen die Ehrengabe verliehen wurde". Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics (February 1993). Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer. ISSN   0932-0067 (print), 1432-0711 (online); vol. 156, no. 12. DOI 10.1007/BF01790506. p. XV
  3. Österreichische Staatsarchiv (ÖStA) (Austrian State Archives (ÖStA)); Allgemeines Adelsarchiv der österreichischen Monarchie (General Archive of Nobility of the Austrian Monarchy), Author: Karl Friedrich Benjamin Leupold, Publisher: Hoffmeister, Wien (Vienne), 1789, Volume 1, Issue 2, Page 179-184, in German.
  4. Little Jr., DM (1962). "Classical file". Survey of Anesthesiology. 6 (3): 351. doi:10.1097/00132586-196206000-00068.