Siegfried Friedrich Wilhelm Erdmann Graf von Roedern 
(27.7.1870 - 14.4.1954)
place of birth:  Marburg an der Lahn


German Count and politician who served as Minister of Finance during the latter half of World War One. Siegfried was born as Germany was going to war with France during the Franco-Prussian War 1870-71. His father, Count Ludwig Erdmann von Roedern, fought during the war as an adjutant with the 11th Jäger Bataillon. 

Friedrich studied law and government at the Universities of Freiburg, Berlin, Geneva, and Marburg. When he was 27, he married Else Nasse. He worked his way up through the civil service ranks and in 1905 served as Landrat for the Niederbarnim district. As the First World War broke out, he held the office of State Secretary in the Ministry for Alsace-Lorraine. On 22 May 1916, he replaced Karl Helfferich as Germany's Minister of Finance. Shortly after the armistice was signed, he resigned his post and move to Gunterstal, where he dedicated himself to his writings. He later moved to Hamburg where he got involved in the shipping industry and remained politically active, joining the Nazi Party in 1933. In the final years of his life, however, he dedicated his writings to his opposition to the Second World War. He died on 14 April 1954 at his beloved Sonnleitnerhof in Bergen.