Clemens von Delbrück

Clemens Ernst Gottlieb von Delbrück (; 19 January 1856, in Halle an der Saale – 17 December 1921, in Jena) was a German conservative politician. He was ennobled in 1916.

Early life Delbrück was born into a common family, and attended high school in Halle between 1873 and 1877. He studied theology at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg and law at the University of Berlin, which bestowed an honorary doctorate on him in 1912. In 1882, having passed the staatsexamen, he gained a government post in Kwidzyn.

Career Promoted to the office of Landrat (district administrator) of Tuchel in 1885, Delbrück became president of the city council of Danzig in 1891. From 1896 to 1902, he was Oberbürgermeister (mayor) of Danzig and sat in the Prussian House of Lords. He was the Oberpräsident of West Prussia from 1902 to 1905.

On 14 July 1909, Delbrück joined the national government as the minister of the interior and vice-chancellor in the cabinet of Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg. He also became vice-president of the Prussian ministry on 16 August 1914. On 14 October 1918, he was made the head of the Kaiser's Geheimes Zivilkabinett (privy civil cabinet) before its dissolution with the fall of the German Empire on 11 November. A committed monarchist, he hoped to be able to retain the monarchy in the post-war democratic Germany.