Gerhard Adolph Bading, M.D. (August 31, 1870 – April 11, 1946) was an American physician, and politician who served as mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1912 to 1916. he was the U.S. Envoy to Ecuador from 1922 to 1929.
Gerhard Bading was born in Milwaukee, the son of German-born Lutheran pastor John Bading and Brooklyn-born Dorothea (Ehlers) Bading. A physician, Bading served as Milwaukee's health commissioner from 1906 to 1910. In 1912 he was elected mayor of Milwaukee, defeating the incumbent Emil Seidel, a member of the Socialist Party of America. Bading was reelected in 1914, but lost a third reelection bid in 1916 to Daniel Hoan, Milwaukee's second socialist mayor.
In 1922 Bading was appointed U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Ecuador, a post he held until 1929.
Bading is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Emil Seidel |
Mayor of Milwaukee 1912–1916 |
Succeeded by Daniel Hoan |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Charles S. Hartman |
United States Envoy to Ecuador 15 May 1922–1 November 1929 |
Succeeded by William Dawson |