 He was "Abstimmungskommissar", and in that function worked successfully for German interests in the plebiscites.He served as Foreign Minister of Germany from 10 April to 21 June 1920 in the first cabinet of Hermann Müller based on SPD, the Zentrum and the liberal German Democratic Party (DDP).In the second cabinet of Joseph Wirth (Zentrum, SPD, DDP), he served as Minister of the Interior of Germany from 26 October 1921 to 14 November 1922.