Michaelis, Georg

Michaelis, Georg gāˈôrkh mĭkhˌäāˈlĭs [key], 1857–1936, German chancellor (July–Oct., 1917). A Prussian bureaucrat, he succeeded Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg as imperial chancellor and was dominated by the military leaders, particularly Erich Ludendorff. When asked to endorse the resolution passed by the Reichstag favoring peace without annexation or indemnities, he tried to avoid committing himself by stating that he would support the resolution “as I understand it.”

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