Anton Weintraub
Anton Weintraub | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister-President of Hanover | |
| In office 20 November 1924 – 20 November 1939 | |
| Monarch | Frederick |
| Deputy | Jonas Hahnemann |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Bruno Lindauer |
| Leader of the Hanoverian Union Party | |
| In office 5 December 1924 – 20 November 1939 | |
| Deputy | Jonas Hahnemann |
| Succeeded by | Bruno Lindauer |
| Member of the Hanoverian Parliament for Lehrte | |
| In office 20 November 1924 – 20 November 1939 | |
| Succeeded by | Emanuel Mann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anton Schmidt Weintraub March 10, 1876 Goslar, Kingdom of Hanover |
| Died | May 22, 1981 (aged 105) King Frederick City, Hanover |
| Political party | Hanoverian Union Party |
| Spouse | Madia Thimig |
| Children | 3 |
Anton Schmidt Weintraub (10 March 1876 - 22 May 1981) was a Hanoverian politician and banker who served as the first minister-president of Hanover from 1924 to 1939, and the founding leader of the Hanoverian Union Party from 1924 to 1939.
The only son of a wealthy banking family in Hanover, Weintraub, then a promising and fairly successful banker in his family's tradition, first rose to prominence as one of the founding members of the Democratic Movement for Hanover, a group of Hanoverian activists concerned with modernisation and reform of the administration of Hanover which, by the early 20th century, had begun to be seen by large sectors of society as outdated and archaic, given that the kingdom's administrative leader, known as a viceroy, was an unelected position. During the course of this, in 1907, following the death of the group's founder, Patrik Rosenhain, Weintraub was subsequently elected as the group's new leader, an appointment that allowed him to further advance the group's cause, which became more and more noticeable and popular following the end of World War I, during which post-war tensions had thrown the future of Hanover into doubt. Eventually, on November 1924, following Hanover's formal incorporation into the United Kingdom as an autonomous constituent country as a result of the passage of the Kingdom of Hanover Act 1924, in which Weintraub played a significant role as the leading Hanoverian voice concerning the bill, in the country's first state elections, Weintraub, by then a leading and popular figure in the reform movement for Hanover, was elected as the country's first minister-president, a role which he would hold from 1924 until 1939, before voluntarily stepping down in accordance to a tradition he had established himself, whereby the officeholder would voluntarily resign after holding the office for fifteen years each.
As minister-president, Weintraub initially presided over the post-war economic boom following the First World War, before later overseeing a major financial crisis caused by the Great Depression in 1929. Around that same time, the growing ideology of Nazism in the neighbouring Weimar Republic became an issue of concern for Weintraub, a moderate conservative, whom subsequently took great effort in rooting out, as well as preventing the Nazi ideology from ever taking hold in Hanover, while at the same time, greatly promoting efforts to alleviate the general population's hardships caused by the Great Depression. Then, in November 1939, Weintraub voluntarily resigned from his position after fifteen years in power, although his resignation came at a rather difficult time, given that in September 1939, the United Kingdom, and therefore, Hanover itself, had entered into a state of war against Nazi Germany following the latter's invasion of Poland. Consequently, throughout the following wartime years, despite not holding office anymore, Weintraub actively served as a leading resistance icon and figure against German forces, a role that would ultimately solidify his status as a hugely popular figure in Hanover. Then, throughout the following Cold War period, Weintraub was also an active critic and a proponent of hawkish policies against Soviet-inspired communism, which he famously described in one speech as "Nazism in red clothing that is an undeniable danger and threat to the existence and sovereignty of Hanover".
On 22 May 1981, at the age of 105, Weintraub passed away at his home from natural causes, making him the longest-lived minister-president of Hanover and the only one to have reached beyond the age of 100.