Friedrich von Payer

Friedrich Ludwig von Payer (12 June 1847 – 14 July 1931) was a German lawyer, liberal politician and the vice-chancellor of German Empire during the last year of World War I.

Life
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 career 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 German Democratic Party and remained a member of the new Weimar Reichstag until 6 June 1920. Payer married Alwine Schöninger.