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 The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) was founded 1925 as a political legacy of Germany's first democratically elected president, Friedrich Ebert (1871 – 1925).
Ebert, a social democrat of a modest craft background who had risen to held the highest political office in his country, proposed – in response to his own painful experience in political confrontation – the establishment of a foundation to serve the following aims:
furthering political and social education of individuals from all segments of life in the spirit of democracy and pluralism,
facilitating access to university education and research for gifted young people by providing scholarships,
contributing to international understanding and cooperation.
The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, which was banned by the Nazis in 1933 and re-established in 1947, continues serving these aims through all of its extensive activities.
As a private cultural non-profit institution, it is committed to the ideas and basic values of social democracy.
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 Friedrich Ebert(1871-1925):
Friedrich Ebert was born in 1871 as seventh of nine children in Heidelberg, Germany. As it was common at this time in Germany for persons of modest financial background Ebert did not proceed in educational training and visit institutions of higher education but was trained as craftsman.
Shortly after he stopped his training as craftsman, Ebert started started to participate in public affairs. He joined worker unions and later the socialistic party of August Bebel, which became later the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
This decision was not actually conform to the political program of the German government of these days; socialists were seen as opponents to the state.
Ebert became monitored by the forces of the German empire and had to move several times.
Ebert became a trusted figure in the ranks of the SPD, which was no longer prohibited; the anti-socialist legislation was abandoned in 1890. The conservative forces of the government had to realize that the socialistic parties prospered even in the underground. Ebert was promoted in the rank of a secretary of directorate of the SPD. In 1912 Ebert became elected member of the Reichstag, the German parliament, and a year later in 1913 he was elected by the party members to the chair of the SPD. The SPD was at this time the strongest faction of the parliament.
Due to patriotism Ebert and his Party sustained and legitimated the resolutions of the German Empire in the parliament during World War I. The war–supporting policy of Ebert was not without controversy within the SPD. Ebert was not able to maintain the union of his party during the last year of the war. The wing of the anti war faction left the SPD and launched their own party, which became later a strong rival of the SPD.
After four years of war Germany was defeated. The political situation within Germany was tense. Strikes and revolts were all-over Germany. Ebert was appointed as arbiter at several occasions.
The monarchic institutions of the government made allowances toward the parties. A new government with more democratic features was formed to avoid further political rows. Ebert was entrusted with the highest political post, but he himself was no opponent of the monarchy in Germany. The Abduction of the German Emperor and the proclaiming of the Republic were not in his favor. Ebert had preferred a solution in accordance with the Constitution. Ebert used multiple forces to suppress riots in Germany in order to maintain peace. In February 1919 Ebert was elected to the first president of the German Republic. He continued in this position till his death in 1925. The main line of his politic can be described as maintaining peace in Germany and fulfilling the conditions of the peace treaty of 1918.
The decisions made by Ebert were not always uncontested by his own party or parts of the population.
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