Adolf Hermann Freiherr Marschall von Bieberstein (12 October 1842 – 24 September 1912) was a German politician and State Secretary of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Biography

Marschall von Bieberstein's father, Augustus Friedrich Marschall von Bieberstein (1804-1888), was chamberlain to the

Grand Duke of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a margravi ...

, and his mother was Baroness Ida von Falkenstein (1810-1857). He was educated at the Gymnasium of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, and studied jurisprudence at the Universities of

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. He was a member of the Corps Suevia, a

Studentenverbindung () or , often referred to as , is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousand in ...

. After finishing his studies, he started on a career in government, working as a prosecutor in

Mosbach Mosbach (; South Franconian: ''Mossbach'') is a town in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the seat of the Neckar-Odenwald district and has a population of approximately 25,000 distributed in six boroughs: Mosbach Town, Lohrbach, ...

und

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

. His career as a politician began in 1875, as a representative in the First Chamber of Baden; from 1878 to 1881 he was also a member of the Reichstag for the

German Conservative Party The German Conservative Party (, DkP) was a Right-wing politics, right-wing political party of the German Empire founded in 1876. It largely represented the wealthy landowning German nobility and the Prussian Junker (Prussia), Junker class. The p ...

and at first supported Bismarck, but then he undertook an oppositional stance towards Bismarck, after the latter turned towards the conservatives in 1879. From 1883 to 1890 Marschall von Bieberstein was the envoy of the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and participated in the fall of Bismarck in 1890. In 1890 he succeeded

Herbert von Bismarck Nikolaus Heinrich Ferdinand Herbert, Prince of Bismarck (born Nikolaus Heinrich Ferdinand Herbert Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen; 28 December 1849 – 18 September 1904) was a German politician, who served as Foreign Secretary from 1886 to 1890. ...

as State Secretary of the Foreign Office under Otto von Bismarck's successor

Leo von Caprivi Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (English language, English: ''Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli''; born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was a German general and statesman. He ...

. When he first assumed office, he incurred the enmity of Bismarck by refusing his advice. The result was a fierce press campaign against Marschall von Bieberstein. He supported Caprivi's reconciliation policy through trade agreements and sought compromise with Britain. After Caprivi's dismissal in 1894, Marschall von Bieberstein succeeded him as Foreign Minister of Prussia while remaining State Secretary under the new Chancellor Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. Marschall von Bieberstein was increasingly involved in disputes with

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

, who aspired to have a greater personal influence on foreign policy. He was also opposed by the Agrarians because he advocated the reduction of corn duties. In 1897, he was dismissed from both his offices and replaced by

Bernhard von Bülow Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow ( ; 3 May 1849 – 28 October 1929) was a German politician who served as the chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia from 1900 to ...

. Marschall von Bieberstein was transferred to Constantinople as ambassador. Through economic co-operation between the German and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, he wanted to extend Germany's relations with the Orient. The

Baghdad Railway Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

played a central role in this. Thanks to Marschall von Bieberstein's efforts, a predominantly German consortium received the concession to build the Baghdad Railway. Marschall von Bieberstein was the representative of the German Empire at the

Second Peace Conference The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amon ...

in The Hague in 1907. An advocate of a strong naval policy for Germany, he was the exponent of Germany's resolute and successful opposition to any practical discussion of the question of restriction of armaments. In 1912, shortly prior to his death, he became ambassador in London. He received the task to achieve a turnaround in the tense Anglo-German relations. Shortly after taking office, however, he died on 24 September 1912, aged 69.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marschall Von Bieberstein, Adolf 1842 births 1912 deaths Politicians from Karlsruhe People from the Grand Duchy of Baden German barons German Protestants German Conservative Party politicians Foreign secretaries of Germany Members of the 4th Reichstag of the German Empire Ambassadors of Germany to Turkey Ambassadors of Germany to the United Kingdom University of Freiburg alumni Heidelberg University alumni Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order