It took office on 22 November 1922 when it replaced the second cabinet of Joseph Wirth, which had resigned after being unable to restructure its coalition following the loss of a key vote in the Reichstag.

The government printed additional money to pay for its support of the large number of workers and businesses idled by its policy of passive resistance against the occupation.

Joseph Wirth's second cabinet resigned on 14 November 1922 when he was unable to form a new coalition following the loss of an important vote in the Reichstag.

The German President, Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), asked the independent Wilhelm Cuno to form a new government on 16 November.

[1] Cuno, who had been general director of the HAPAG shipping company, largely failed as well in his attempts to convince other business leaders to join his cabinet.

Cuno formed a government partly composed of independents with economic experience – Wilhelm Groener, Heinrich Albert, Frederic von Rosenberg and – a few days later – Hans Luther.

Yet the domestic issues that threatened to limit the cabinet's lifespan were quickly rendered secondary by foreign policy events when the occupation of the Ruhr brought on a national emergency.

The goal was to convince the Allies of World War I to accept an extended payment moratorium for three to four years that would allow the Germans to stabilise their economy and currency before resuming transfers.

On 26 December 1922, the reparations commission, against the vote of the British commissioner, formally found that Germany had culpably failed to comply with its obligations concerning the delivery of wood.

[3] The German government paid for the upkeep of the families of those expelled or arrested by the occupation forces and to support the rising number of people who became unemployed as a result of the industrial disruptions caused by the policy of passive resistance.

On 11 August, the British government sent a harshly critical memorandum to the French which explicitly endorsed the German position that the Ruhr occupation was illegal.