Otto von Bismarck
Prince Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen Duke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was an aristocrat and statesman of the 19th century in Europe. As Prime Minister of Prussia from 1862 to 1890, he was mainly responsible for unifying most of the many independent German countries into the new German Empire in 1871. He became the first chancellor of the empire.
Otto von Bismarck | |
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Chancellor of the German Empire | |
In office 21 March 1871 – 20 March 1890 | |
Monarch | Wilhelm I Friedrich III Wilhelm II |
Deputy | Otto Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode Karl Heinrich von Boetticher |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Leo von Caprivi |
Minister President of Prussia | |
In office 9 November 1873 – 20 March 1890 | |
Monarch | Wilhelm I Friedrich III Wilhelm II |
Preceded by | Albrecht von Roon |
Succeeded by | Leo von Caprivi |
In office 23 September 1862 – 1 January 1873 | |
Monarch | Wilhelm I |
Preceded by | Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen |
Succeeded by | Albrecht von Roon |
Chancellor of the North German Confederation | |
In office 1 July 1867 – 21 March 1871 | |
President | Wilhelm I |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 23 November 1862 – 20 March 1890 | |
Prime Minister | Himself Albrecht von Roon |
Preceded by | Albrecht von Bernstorff |
Succeeded by | Leo von Caprivi |
Personal details | |
Born | Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen 1 April 1815 Schönhausen, Kreis Jerichow II, Province of Saxony, Prussia (now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) |
Died | 30 July 1898 (aged 83) Friedrichsruh, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
Political party | Independent |
Spouse(s) | Johanna von Puttkamer (m. 1847; died 1894) |
Children | Marie Herbert Wilhelm |
Parents | Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Bismarck (1771–1845) Wilhelmine Luise Mencken (1789–1839) |
Alma mater | University of Göttingen University of Berlin University of Greifswald[1] |
Profession | Lawyer |
Signature | ![]() |
He was Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen (Count Bismarck-Schönhausen) in 1865, then since 1871 Fürst von Bismarck (Prince Bismarck) and since 1890 the Herzog von Lauenburg (Duke of Lauenburg). At first he did not want the duke title but accepted it later.
Unification of GermanyEdit
In the 1860s he engineered a series of wars that unified most of the German states except Austria into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. He got that by 1871 and "remained undisputed world champion at the game of multilateral diplomatic chess for almost twenty years after 1871, [and] devoted himself exclusively, and successfully, to maintaining peace between the powers".[2]
Bismarck conducted wars against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1871). All were to get more land for the German Empire. The war against France was very significant in the long run. France lost Alsace–Lorraine. The German victory, under the brilliant Helmuth von Moltke, made Germany the most important country in Central Europe.
After the death of the emperor and of his son (Frederick III) in 1888, a new era began, without Bismarck and the elder von Moltke, and with Kaiser Wilhelm II on the throne.
Policy at homeEdit
Bismarck was very conservative and was strongly connected to the monarchy. He was not a big supporter of democracy. His most important goal was to make Prussia stronger, and he achieved that by the unification of Germany. Bismarck tried to stop the socialist movement and to reduce the power of the Catholic Church.
One way to stop socialism was to make the working class happy. He did so by introducing many social reforms like public health and accident insurance, as well as pensions for old people. Bismarck's pension scheme was the forerunner of the modern welfare state.[3]
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ Steinberg, Jonathan (2011-06-01). Bismarck: A Life. p. 51. ISBN 9780199782529.
- ↑ Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire: 1875–1914 (1987), p. 312.
- ↑ Steinberg, Jonathan. 2011. Bismarck: a life Oxford University Press. p. 8, 424, 444.
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