Walther Rathenau, German businessman and politician, 7th German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1867)
Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a Jewish-German industrialist, writer and liberal politician.
During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau served as German Foreign Minister (February to June 1922) of the Weimar Republic.
Rathenau initiated the 1922 Treaty of Rapallo, which removed major obstacles to trading with Soviet Russia. Although Russia was already aiding Germany's secret rearmament programme, right-wing nationalist groups branded Rathenau a revolutionary, also resenting his background as a successful Jewish businessman.
Two months after the signing of the treaty, Rathenau was assassinated by the right-wing terrorist group Organisation Consul in Berlin. Some members of the public viewed Rathenau as a democratic martyr; after the Nazis came to power in 1933 they banned all commemoration of him.