Prince Maximilian of Baden

Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929), also known as Max von Baden, was a German aristocrat, general and politician. A member of the House of Baden, in October and November 1918 he briefly served as the last chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia.

The son of Prince Wilhelm of Baden and Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, Max studied law at the Leipzig University before joining the Prussian Army. He became heir presumptive to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1907 upon the death of his uncle, Grand Duke Frederick I. He served as a general staff officer at the XIV Corps upon the outbreak of World War I. In 1914, he became honorary president of the Baden section of the German Red Cross, where he worked for the welfare of prisoners of war using his international connections.

Emperor Wilhelm II appointed Max chancellor in October 1918, replacing Georg von Hertling, and he was immediately tasked to approach the Allies and secure an armistice. Despite his own reservations, he began peace negotiations based on U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and took steps towards transforming the government into a parliamentary system. He forced Erich Ludendorff's resignation from the Supreme Army Command when the latter threatened to derail the negotiations. As revolution in Germany rapidly spread in November 1918, Max unilaterally proclaimed the abdication of Wilhelm and handed over the chancellorship to SPD Chairman Friedrich Ebert, marking the end of the German Empire and the beginning of the Weimar Republic.

After the revolution, Max returned to Baden and spent the rest of his life in retirement. He wrote a number of books and established the private boarding school Schule Schloss Salem with the help of Kurt Hahn. He died in 1929, a year after becoming the head of the House of Baden.