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Otto von Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck
Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1990-023-06A, Otto von Bismarck.jpg
Bismarck in 1881
1st Chancellor of Germany
In office
21 March 1871 – 20 March 1890
Monarch Wilhelm I
Friedrich III
Wilhelm II
Deputy Otto 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
Foreign Minister of Prussia
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 1 April 1815
Schönhausen, Kreis Jerichow II, Province of Saxony, Prussia
(in modern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany)
Died 30 July 1898 (aged 83)
Friedrichsruh, Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Johanna von Puttkamer
(1847–94; her death)
Children Marie
Herbert
Wilhelm
Alma mater University of Göttingen
University of Berlin
University of Greifswald
Profession Lawyer
Religion Lutheranism
Signature
Styles of
The Prince of Bismarck
Azure, a trefoil Or with three oak leaves argent
Reference style His Serene Highness
Spoken style Your Serene Highness
Alternative style Sir

Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), known as Otto von Bismarck, was a conservative Prussian statesman who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890. In the 1860s he engineered a series of wars that unified the German states, significantly and deliberately excluding Austria, into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership. With that accomplished by 1871 he skillfully used balance of power diplomacy to maintain Germany's position in a Europe which, despite many disputes and war scares, remained at peace. For historian Eric Hobsbawm, it was Bismarck who "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."

In 1862, King Wilhelm I appointed Bismarck as Minister President of Prussia, a position he would hold until 1890 (except for a short break in 1873). He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in its defeat of France. In 1871 he formed the German Empire with himself as Chancellor, while retaining control of Prussia. His diplomacy of realpolitik and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the "Iron Chancellor." German unification and its rapid economic growth was the foundation to his foreign policy. He disliked colonialism but reluctantly built an overseas empire when it was demanded by both elite and mass opinion. Juggling a very complex interlocking series of conferences, negotiations and alliances, he used his diplomatic skills to maintain Germany's position and used the balance of power to keep Europe at peace in the 1870s and 1880s.


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