Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff
| Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff | |
|---|---|
Bernstorff in 1908
|
|
| German Ambassador to the United States | |
|
In office 1908–1917 |
|
| German Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire | |
|
In office 1917–1918 |
|
| Reichstag | |
|
In office 1921–1928 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 14, 1862 London, United Kingdom |
| Died | October 6, 1939 (aged 76) Geneva, Switzerland |
| Political party | German Democratic Party (DDP) |
| Spouse(s) | Jeanne (Johanna) Luckemeyer (1867–1943) |
| Children | Luise-Alexandra (1888–1971) Christian-Günther (1891–1947) |
| Religion | Protestantism |
Johann Heinrich Graf von Bernstorff (14 November 1862 – 6 October 1939) was a German politician and the ambassador to the United States from 1908 to 1917.
Born in 1862 in London, he was the son of one of the most powerful politicians in the Prussian Kingdom. While Foreign Minister for Prussia, his father Count Albrecht von Bernstorff had earned the ire of Prince Bismarck in the Prussian constitutional crisis of 1859-1866. Overestimating his political strength, von Bernstorff resigned in a spat over the constitution with the expectation to force his will on the Prussian government. However, the Emperor accepted Bernstorff’s miscalculated challenge and appointed Otto von Bismarck chancellor and foreign minister. For the rest of his life, Count Albrecht von Bernstorff would criticize Bismarck’s Machiavellian style of governing. In 1862, the elder Bernstorff served as ambassador at the Court of St James's. For the next eleven years young Bernstorff grew up in England until his father’s death in 1873. After moving back to Germany Johann von Bernstorff went to the humanistic gymnasium in Dresden from which he graduated with a baccalaureate in 1881.
While von Bernstorff’s dream had always been to pursue a diplomatic career, the family feud with Bismarck made an appointment to the diplomatic service impossible. As a result, he joined the Prussian Army for the next eight years, serving in an artillery unit in Berlin.
After being elected a member of the Reichstag, he finally succeeded in convincing the Bismarcks to settle the dispute with the long dead father. In 1887, von Bernstorff married Jeanne Luckemeyer, a German-American. She was a native of New York City and daughter of a wealthy silk merchant.
His first diplomatic assignment was Constantinople where he served as military attaché. From 1892 to 94 he served at the German embassy in Belgrade. After a brief assignment to St. Petersburg (1895–97), von Bernstorff became counselor of the embassy in London (1902–06). Bernstorff's diplomatic skills were noted in Berlin throughout the First Moroccan Crisis in 1905. He then served as consul general in Cairo (1906–08).
...
Wikipedia