After studying law, philosophy, and economics in Berlin, he was drafted in 1916 but discharged because of poor health. In 1920, he became the editor of an important economic newspaper. He joined the Nazi Party in 1931 and became Hitler's personal economic advisor. In March 1933, Funk was appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of Propaganda. In 1938, after Hjalmar Schacht's resignation, he became the Minister of Economics; a year later, he also took over the governorship of the central bank. Prosecuted in Nuremberg, Funk was sentenced to life in prison and released in 1957.
