Luther, Hans

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Hans Luther (häns lōō´tər), 1879–1962, German statesman. As Gustav Stresemann's minister of finance he aided Hjalmar Schacht in stabilizing the German currency. A non-partisan in centrist coalitions, he succeeded Wilhelm Marx as chancellor, heading two successive center-right coalition cabinets (1925–26). With Stresemann as his foreign minister, he negotiated the Locarno Pact in 1925. Luther was president (1930–33) of the Reichsbank and German ambassador (1933–37) to the United States. His memoirs appeared in 1960.