He was heir presumptive to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and in October and November 1918 briefly served as the last chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia.

He sued for peace on Germany's behalf at the end of World War I based on U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and took steps towards transforming the government into a parliamentary system.

As the German Revolution of 1918–1919 spread, he handed over the office of chancellor to SPD Chairman Friedrich Ebert and unilaterally proclaimed the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II.

[4] Shortly afterwards, however, he retired from his position (General der Kavallerie à la suite) as he was dissatisfied with his role in the military and was suffering from ill health.

[6] Since he was almost unknown to the public, it was mainly due to Kurt Hahn, who served from spring 1917 in the military office of the Foreign Ministry, that he was later considered for the position of chancellor.

Hahn maintained close links with Secretary of State Wilhelm Solf and several Reichstag deputies like Eduard David (SPD) and Conrad Haußmann (FVP).

Max then put himself forward for the position in early September 1918, pointing out his links to the social democrats, but Emperor Wilhelm II turned him down.

However, it took the additional support of Haußmann, Oberst Johannes "Hans" von Haeften [de] and Ludendorff himself to have Wilhelm II appoint Max as Imperial Chancellor of Germany and Minister President of Prussia.

[7]: 44 Although Max had serious reservations about the conditions under which the OHL was willing to conduct negotiations and tried to interpret Wilson's Fourteen Points in a way most favourable to the German position,[6] he accepted the charge.

This was following up on an idea of Ludendorff's and former Foreign Secretary Paul von Hintze's (as the representative of the Hertling cabinet) who had agreed on 29 September that the request for an armistice must not come from the old regime, but from one based on the majority parties.

[7]: 36–37  The official reason for appointing a government based on a parliamentary majority was to make it harder for the American president to refuse a peace offer.

[7]: 51 While trying to move towards an armistice, Max, advised closely by Hahn (who also wrote his speeches), Haußmann and Walter Simons, worked with the representatives of the majority parties in his cabinet (Scheidemann and Bauer for the SPD, Matthias Erzberger, Karl Trimborn [de] and Adolf Gröber [de] for the Centre Party, Payer and, after 14 October, Haußmann for the FVP).

Although some of the initiatives were a result of the notes sent by Wilson, they were also in line with the parties' manifestos: making the Chancellor, his government and the Prussian Minister of War answerable to parliament (Reichstag and Preußischer Landtag), introducing a more democratic voting system in the place of the Dreiklassenwahlrecht (Three-class franchise) in Prussia, the replacement of the Governor of Alsace-Lorraine with the Mayor of Straßburg, appointing a local deputy from the Centre Party as Secretary of State for Alsace-Lorraine and some other adjustments in government personnel.

In fact, the government's efforts to secure an armistice were interrupted by the Kiel mutiny, which began with events at Wilhelmshaven on 30 October and the outbreak of revolution in Germany in early November.

[5]: 191 On 7 November, Max met with Friedrich Ebert, leader of the SPD, and discussed his plan to go to Spa and convince Wilhelm II to abdicate.

He considered installing Prince Eitel Friedrich, Wilhelm's second son, as regent;[7]: 76  however, the outbreak of the revolution in Berlin prevented Max from implementing his plan.

[7]: 90 Although events had overtaken him during his tenure at the Reichskanzlei and he was not considered a strong Chancellor, Max is seen today as having played a vital role in enabling the transition from the old regime to a democratic government based on the majority parties and the Reichstag.

[6] In 1928, following the death of Grand Duke Frederick II, who had been deposed in November 1918 when the German monarchies were abolished, Maximilian became head of the House of Zähringen, assuming the dynasty's historical title of Margrave of Baden.