Friedrich Ebert at 150: Germany's pioneer of democracy He was a man of new beginnings. Friedrich Ebert led Germany through difficult times after it lost the First World War. Both admired and controversial, he was also the victim of a smear campaign by far-right forces. Why Friedrich Ebert is still relevant today The Mustache of the Nation The distinctive mustache, the short, arched eyebrows and the stern look: This is the Friedrich Ebert most German schoolchildren know. The social democrat was the first president of Germany's fledgling democratic republic in 1919, and this bust in the Weimar ...