Simons, Walter

Simons, Walter (väl`tər zē`môns), 1861–1937, German jurist and statesman. He served (1919) as commissioner general to the German delegation at Versailles, but resigned in opposition to the signing of the peace treaty. He later served as foreign minister (1920–21), president of the German supreme court (1922–29), and acting president of the republic (Mar.–May, 1925). He later taught at the Univ. of Leipzig. An outstanding authority on international law, Simons wrote several works, notably The Evolution of International Public Law in Europe since Grotius (1931).