Otto von Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck
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
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.