ERZBERGER, MATTHIAS. - German statesman, b. 20 Oct. 1875 at Buttenhausen (Württemberg), d. 26 Aug. 1921 at Griesbach. From 1896 editor of the Deutsche Volksblatt, the organ of the Centre Party in Stuttgart, he held an eminent position in the Christian trade-union movement.
Elected deputy to the Reichstag in 1903, he moved to Berlin and soon became the official spokesman of the Centre Party in the Reichstag. During the war he drafted a treaty proposal for the international recognition of the pope’s temporal power, through the establishment of a sovereign State over a territory somewhat larger than the present one. E., in agreement with Emperor Carlo d'Azburgo, intended to implement this project after the victory of the Central Empires had been achieved. E., who at the outbreak of the conflict gave unreserved support to the government, joined the Centre Party in opposition in 1917 and became one of the most influential advocates of capitulation; he headed the German commission that signed the Armistice of Compiègne on 11 Nov. 1918.
From June 1919 to March 1920 he was Minister of Finance. He fell victim to an assassination attempt carried out by two former officers.