Karl Hugo Freiherr von Weizsäcker (25 February 1853 – 2 February 1926) was a German politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg

Kingdom of Württemberg

The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...

, and a member of the prominent Weizsäcker

Weizsäcker

The Weizsäcker family was and is influential over the span of several generations, hailing from the former Kingdom of Württemberg. Their members include a Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a President of Germany, a leading diplomat, a prominent environmental scientist, and the...

 family.

He was born Karl Hugo Weizsäcker in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

, the son of the theologian Karl Heinrich Weizsäcker

Karl Heinrich Weizsäcker

Karl Heinrich Weizsäcker was a German Protestant theologian.-Biography:Weizsäcker was born in Öhringen near Heilbronn in Württemberg, and studied at Tübingen and Berlin....

 and his wife, the former Auguste Sophie Christiane Dahm. While serving as a politician at the court of the Kingdom of Württemberg

Württemberg

Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....

, his family was raised to nobility as von Weizsäcker.

Weizsäcker studied at the University of Tübingen. While serving in the administration of king William II of Württemberg

William II of Württemberg

William II was the fourth King of Württemberg, from 6 October 1891 until the abolition of the kingdom on 30 November 1918...

, he was raised to personal nobility on 24 February 1897.

From 1900 onwards, he served as Minister of Culture — until 4 December 1906 when he was made Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

. He served in this office until 6 November 1918, shortly before monarchy was abolished.

In 1916, he and his family were raised to the heritable title of Baron

Freiherr

The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...

 (Freiherr).

Weizsäcker was the father of Ernst von Weizsäcker

Ernst von Weizsäcker

Ernst Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German diplomat and politician. He served as State Secretary at the Foreign Office from 1938 to 1943, and as German Ambassador to the Holy See from 1943 to 1945...

 and thus grandfather of Richard von Weizsäcker

Richard von Weizsäcker

Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker , known as Richard von Weizsäcker, is a German politician . He served as Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1981 to 1984, and as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1984 to 1994...

, who was President of Germany

President of Germany

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...

1984-94. He died in Stuttgart in 1926.