German presidential election, 1925
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Paul von Hindenburg
Independent
Presidential elections were held in Germany on 29 March 1925, with a second round run-off on 26 April. They were the first direct elections to the office of President of the Reich (Reichspräsident), Germany's head of state during the 1919-1933 Weimar Republic. The first President, Friedrich Ebert, who had died on 28 February 1925, had been elected indirectly, by the National Assembly, but the Weimar constitution required that his successor be elected by the "whole German people". Paul von Hindenburg was elected as the second president of Germany in the second round of voting.
Hindenburg was the candidate of a broad coalition of the political right. Many on the right hoped that once in power he would destroy Weimar democracy from the inside and restore the pre-Weimar status quo. The two other candidates who were believed to have a chance of winning were Otto Braun of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Wilhelm Marx of Zentrum (also known as the 'Catholic Centre Party'). Braun and Marx's parties were both members of the 'Weimar coalition': the group of parties regarded as most committed to the Weimar system. Only Marx proceeded to the second round of the election.
The election was important because of the turbulent times in which it occurred and because, under the Weimar constitution, the head of state wielded considerable power. Hindenburg would be again returned in the 1932 election and would play an important role during the rise to power of the Nazis. However, many of Hindenburg's 1925 backers were subsequently disappointed. Although in the years that followed his election many questioned the constitutionality of certain of his actions, Hindenburg never attempted to overthrow the Weimar constitution outright.
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Wikipedia