Second Wirth cabinet

The Second Wirth cabinet (German: Zweites Kabinett Wirth) was the sixth democratically elected Reichsregierung of the German Reich, during the period in which it is now usually referred to as the Weimar Republic. The cabinet was named after Reichskanzler (chancellor) Joseph Wirth and took office on 26 October 1921 when it replaced the First Wirth cabinet.

The cabinet was based on a coalition of Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Catholic Zentrum. The DDP supported it and its Reichswehrminister Otto Gessler remained in office, to be later joined by industrialist Walther Rathenau.

The Second Wirth cabinet resigned on 14 November 1922 and was replaced on 22 November by the Cuno cabinet.

Wirth's first government resigned on 22 October 1921 in protest over the partitioning of Upper Silesia decided on by the League of Nations which gave rise to what became known as the Genfer Ultimatum (the "Geneva Ultimatum"). President Friedrich Ebert asked Wirth to form a new cabinet on 25 October. Ebert noted that attempts to form a "grand coalition", i.e. including the DDP and/or the German People's Party (DVP) on 23 to 25 October seemed to have failed. Both of these parties had refused to support acceptance of the Geneva ultimatum and to join any coalition that agreed to it. SPD and Zentrum now decided to form a government, but on 26 October, Wirth gave a government statement in which he presented his new cabinet as a combination of individuals, not as members of a coalition. Wiederaufbau was left vacant. Wirth was in charge of the Foreign Office and Andreas Hermes became acting Finance Minister. This left positions to divide in case of a later increase in the size of the coalition. Otto Gessler remained in office as an individual, not a representative of his party.

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