Werner von Melle
Werner von Melle in Hamburg senator's ornate, 1905; byRudolf Dührkoop
Second Mayor of Hamburg
In office 1 January 1914 – 31 December 1914
Preceded by	Max Predöhl
Succeeded by	August Schröder
In office 1 January 1917 – 12 November 1917
Preceded by	Max Predöhl
Succeeded by	August Schröder
First Mayor of Hamburg and President of the Hamburg Senate
In office 1 January 1915 – 31 December 1915
Preceded by	Max Predöhl
Succeeded by	August Schröder
In office 1 January 1918 – 12 November 1918
Preceded by	Max Predöhl
Succeeded by	Soldiers' and Workers' Council
In office (acting only) 18 November 1918 – 27 March 1919
Preceded by	Soldiers' and Workers' Council
Succeeded by	himself (reëlected)
In office 31 March 1919 – 31 December 1919
Preceded by	himself (reëlected)
Succeeded by	Friedrich Sthamer
Personal details
Born	18 October 1853 Hamburg
Died	18 February 1937 (1937-02-19) (aged 83) Hamburg
Nationality	German
Political party	Nonpartisan
Alma mater	Georgia Augusta

Werner von Melle (18 October 1853 – 18 February 1937) was amayor and senator ofHamburg,^[1][2] as well as ajurist.^[3] Melle, who held multiple doctorates, also served on the first board of trustees for theHamburg Scientific Foundation.^[4]

Melle was the son ofEmil von Melle [de], a merchant who later became a senator of Hamburg and eventually sat in the senate of theNorth German Confederation. Melle's mother, Maria Geffcken, whom his father married in 1850, was the daughter of Senator Henry Geffcken. After marrying Emmy Kaemmerer, the daughter ofGeorg Heinrich Kaemmerer, a businessman and member of theHamburg Parliament, in 1880, Melle fathered three daughters.

Melle studied law at theGeorgia Augusta University inGöttingen and became a lawyer in Hamburg in 1876, also writing articles for the newspaperHamburgischer Correspondent. In 1886, he became a full-time journalist withHamburger Nachrichten [de]. In 1891 he joined the executive board of Hamburg's senior school authority (Oberschulbehörde) and was appointed syndic attorney of the city-state of Hamburg.^{[citation needed]}

In 1900 the Hamburg Parliament elected Melle as fellow senator into theSenate of Hamburg, the executive government of the city-state. Although elected for a life-term, he remained senator only until 1921. For the calendar years 1914 and 1917 the fellow senators elected him deputy mayor (Second Mayor of Hamburg).^[5] Then the fellow senators elected himFirst Mayor of Hamburg, thus head of state and of government (president of the senate) – though under the auspices of aprimus inter pares regulation – for the full calendar years 1915, 1918 and for the term 31 March to 31 December 1919.^{[citation needed]}

On 12 November 1918 theHamburg revolutionarySoldiers' and Workers' Council deposed the Senate of Hamburg, but reappointed the senators as acting administration only on 18 November. In this function Melle continued as acting First Mayor beyond his election term, actually ending on 31 December 1918, until the complete senate resigned on 27 March 1919, thus ending the life-term mandates under the old 1860 constitution.^{[citation needed]}

On 30 March 1919 the Hamburg Parliament, first time elected under equal suffrage by men and women of Hamburg, elected a new senate, into which Melle and six more pre-war senators were reëlected, besides eleven new senators. On 31 March 1919 the fellow senators elected Melle again their president and First Mayor of Hamburg. His predecessor as First Mayor wasMax Predöhl (in 1914 and in 1917), his successors wereCarl August Schröder in 1916 andFriedrich Sthamer in 1920.^{[citation needed]}

• 1917 Honorary Doctor of Theology Faculty of the University of Göttingen
• 1921 Rector magnificus honoris causa of the University of Hamburg^[4]
• 1928 Honorary Doctor of Political Sciences, University of Hamburg
• Asteroid869 Mellena, discovered by astronomerRichard Schorr at theHamburg Observatory in the Bergedorf borough on 9 May 1917, was named in his honor. Thenaming was mentioned inThe Names of the Minor Planets byPaul Herget in 1955 (H 85).^[6]

• Die Entwicklung des öffentlichen Armenwesen in Hamburg, Hamburg 1883.
• Gustav Heinrich Kirchenpauer. Ein Lebens- und Zeitbild, Hamburg 1888.
• Das Hamburgische Staatsrecht, Hamburg 1891.
• Dreißig Jahre Hamburger Wissenschaft, 1891–1921. Rückblicke und persönliche Erinnerungen, 2 Bände, Hamburg 1923.
• Jugenderinnerungen, Hamburg 1928.

• Newspaper clippings about Werner von Melle in the20th Century Press Archives of theZBW

• 20th-century German politicians
• German-language writers
• German autobiographers
• Mayors of Hamburg
• Senators of Hamburg (before 1919)
• Senators of Hamburg
• Syndics of Hamburg
• 1853 births
• 1937 deaths
• German male non-fiction writers
• Journalists from Hamburg
• Jurists from Hamburg
• University of Göttingen alumni

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2020
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