French and American occupation authorities. Despite his DVP party consistently polling less votes than Christian Democratic and socialist opponents, Maier steadfastly maintained coalitions with the liberals as the leading party. After the formation of the coalition of FDP / DVP, SPD and All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights (BHE) under his leadership, simultaneous to the creation of the new state of Baden-Württemberg in 1952, the Hesse FDP Association requested the expulsion of Maier and the state chairman Wolfgang Haussmann (1903-1989) from the party along with the separation of the DVP from the FDP, but the coup was not successful. From 1957 to 1960 he was Chairman of the FDP, and then until his death honorary chairman. Deputy Maier was 1932–1933 a member of parliament for the German State Party. At the same time he was from 1932 to 1933 a member of the . On 23 March 1933, he voted for the Enabling Act together with the other four liberal Reichstag deputies Hermann Dietrich, Theodor Heuss, , and Ernst Lemmer. The final sentence of his speech was: For the sake of people and country and in anticipation of a legitimate development, we will rescind our serious concerns and approve the Enabling Act. According to the informations of Theodor Heuss in his memoirs, the five liberal Reichstag deputies have initially been divided with respect to the Enabling Act. Heuss had formulated two explanations, one for rejection, one for abstention. At his side, however, was only Hermann Dietrich. Heinrich Landahl, Ernst Lemmer and Reinhold Maier voted in the Reichstag group for approval. Heuss and Dietrich were overruled, so then all Liberal MPs voted for the Enabling Act. In the Weimar Republic Maier was a member of the German Democratic Party (DDP). In 1945 he was a founder of the Democratic People's Party (DVP), which is now the Baden-Württemberg-Organisation of the FDP. He died in Stuttgart. References External links 1889 births 1971 deaths People from Schorndorf German Protestants Presidents of the German Bundesrat German Democratic Party politicians Free Democratic Party (Germany) politicians Members of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Ministers-President of Baden-Württemberg