Glaser, Karl Hermann

Merchant

born: 26.07.1826 in Kusel

died: 14.02.1888 in Wiesbaden

Glaser came from the wealthy, politically active merchant class of the Duchy of Nassau. Glaser's parents and his great-uncle were German Catholics, which at the time also meant a liberal political creed. This economic, religious and political background shaped Glaser's life. He campaigned for economic liberalism in the Duchy of Nassau and remained committed to this cause after Nassau's annexation.

Glaser was granted Wiesbaden citizenship in 1853 and took over the materials and paint shop founded by his father in 1860. Under his management, the business developed into "Nassau's largest wholesale materials and paint shop" by 1888.

In 1865, Glaser was one of the founding members of the Wiesbaden Chamber of Commerce (Industrie- und Handelskammer), of which he was initially deputy chairman until he headed the chamber from 1882-87. From 1862 until his death, Glaser was a member of the Wiesbaden Citizens' Committee. He was also a member of the municipal council (1867-72) and finally an honorary town councillor, probably until 1873.

On behalf of his great-uncle, the national-liberal member of parliament Carl Julius Ludwig Ernst Scholz, Glaser was sent to the Nassau municipal parliament via the Wiesbaden municipal council in 1869. Here, he worked on the reorganization of the Nassauische Landesbank and the Nassauische Sparkasse until 1871. These institutions had emerged from the "Herzoglich Nassauische Landescreditkasse" and from then on were the guarantors of the association of local authorities.

Burkardt, Barbara/Pult, Manfred (ed.): Nassau parliamentarians. A biographical handbook. Part 2: Der Kommunallandtag des Regierungsbezirks Wiesbaden 1868-1933. Vorgeschichte und Geschichte des Parlamentarismus in Hessen, vol. 17, Wiesbaden 2003 (Historische Kommission für Nassau 71).