Eugen Schiffer (14 February 1860 – 5 September 1954) was a German lawyer and liberal politician. He served as Minister of Finance and deputy head of government from February to April 1919. From October 1919 to March 1920, he was again deputy head of government and Minister of Justice. In 1921, he once more became Minister of Justice. Schiffer was co-founder of two liberal parties, the German Democratic Party (DDP) in 1918 and 1919 during the Weimar republic as well as the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD) of East Germany in 1946. Early life Eugen Schiffer was born in Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia on 14 February 1860 as the son of Bernhard Schiffer (1830–1900, a merchant) and his wife Mathilde (1832–88, née Kassel). Schiffer graduated from the Elisabeth-Gymnasium in Breslau with the Abitur and went on to study law at Breslau, Leipzig and Tübingen. He entered the Prussian judicial service in 1880 and after positions in Zabrze (Upper Silesia) and Magdeburg became Kammergerichtsrat in Berlin in 1906. In 1910, Schiffer was promoted to Oberverwaltungsgerichtsrat. In 1888, Schiffer married Bertha (1858-1919, née Buttermilch). They had two daughters (Mathilde, born in 1889, married Waldemar Koch in 1933) and a son. In 1896, the Jewish Schiffer converted to Protestantism. Political career German Empire During the First World War, Schiffer was an adviser to General Wilhelm Groener and was in charge of the law department at the War Ministry. In October 1917, he became Unterstaatssekretär (Undersecretary) at the Reichsschatzamt (Treasury). At the same time, Schiffer was a delegate to the lower chamber of the Prussian diet for the National Liberal Party (1903-1918) and a member of the Reichstag from 1912 to 1917. His oratory skills, support from big industry and his ambitious nature made him a well known deputy. He was in favor of strengthening the power of the parliament but as a monarchist opposed the revolution. Weimar Republic Nevertheless, after the German Revolution he became Staatssekretär at the Treasury in November 1918. From 1918 to 1919, Schiffer was a founder-member of the German Democratic Party (DDP) and was a member and leader of the DDP parliamentary group in both the Weimar National Assembly (1919–20) and the Reichstag (1920–1924). He also remained a delegate to the Landtag of Prussia until 1924. From February 1919 until his resignation in April 1919, Schiffer was deputy to Ministerpräsident Philipp Scheidemann and Minister of