MATTHIAS ERZBERGER. - German politician, b. 20 Oct 1875 at Buttenhausen (Württemberg), d. 26 Aug. 1921 at Griesbach. From 1896 he was editor of the Deutsche Volksblatt, the organ of the Centre Party in Stuttgart, and occupied a prominent 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 drew up a draft treaty for the international recognition of the Pope’s temporal power, envisaging the establishment of a sovereign state slightly larger than the present Vatican City. Erzberger, in agreement with Emperor Charles of Habsburg, intended to implement this plan after the victory of the Central Powers. At the outbreak of the conflict he unreservedly supported the government, but in 1917 he joined the Centre Party in opposition and became one of the most influential advocates of surrender. He was head of the German delegation that concluded the Armistice of Compiègne on 1 Nov. 1918.
From June 1919 to March 1920 he served as Minister of Finance. He was assassinated by two former officers.