Heinrich Alexander (from 1841 ''Freiherr'') von Arnim(-Suckow) (born 13 February 1798 in

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 ...

; died 5 January 1861 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

) was a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n statesman.

Life

Arnim received his education in the ''Pädagogium'' in Halle, then in 1814 joined the cavalry of the

Landwehr ''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...

of the

Uckermark The Uckermark () is a historical region in northeastern Germany, which straddles the Uckermark (district), Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau. ...

and fought with five brothers in the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

. He joined the Prussian civil service in 1820, he was at first an embassy attaché in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, then a legation secretary in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and was made

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

in 1829. There, he successfully worked towards the creation of the ''

Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of States of the German Confederation, German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1 ...

'', after which he was made an Expert Councillor (''Vortragender Rat'') in the Foreign Ministry in 1834. However, Frederick William IV, with whom he was in close personal contact, made him an envoy in

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in 1840, and in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1846. In these positions he earned much credit through resolutely defending German trade interests, namely by bringing about the Belgo-Prussian trade agreement of 1 September 1844 and through the determination with which he confronted the prevailing protectionist attitudes, publicly and officially as well as through his work ''Mein handelspolitisches Testament'' (translation: ''My Legacy in Trade Policy'') (Berlin 1844). After the end of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

(February 1848), he hurried to Berlin and on 17 March handed the King a memorandum, in which he advocated liberal reforms and the pursuing of a German national policy. He was behind the King's momentous declaration of support for the German cause (21 March). On the same day he took office as Foreign Minister of Prussia in the government that was led first by

Adolf Heinrich von Arnim-Boitzenburg Adolf Heinrich Graf von Arnim-Boitzenburg (10 April 1803 – 8 January 1868) was a German statesman. He served as the first Minister-President of Prussia for ten days during the Revolution of 1848. Early life Arnim was born in the Prussian ...

, then by

Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen (10 January 1803 – 3 December 1890) was a Rhenish banker and politician who served as a Prime Minister of Prussia. Life During the Revolutions of 1848 in Germany, Ludolf Camphausen stepped suddenly from his ban ...

; this government already resigned on 20 June, however. Arnim then lived for a while as a private citizen in

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

and endeavored to work towards a moderate solution to the German question, through various pamphlets (''Frankfurt und Berlin'', Frankfurt 1848; ''Über die Mediatisationsfrage'', Frankfurt 1849). He was a member of the first chamber of the Prussian Parliament from 1849 to 1851, and supported the German-Constitutional party. He vigorously opposed the domestic as well as the feeble foreign policy of the now victorious reactionaries in the most dynamic way possible. An even greater impression than his speeches and petitions was made by the publication of various "undelivered" speeches (''Zur Politik der Epigonen in Preußen'', Berlin 1850; ''Zur Politik der Konterrevolution in Preußen'', Berlin 1851). Due to this last pamphlet Arnim was prosecuted in court at the instigation of the feudal party, and despite a stellar defence that he later published, he was convicted and sentenced to pay a fine. After that he stayed clear of the political stage, until after the downfall of the government of Otto von Manteuffel in 1858 he was elected by a Berlin constituency to the Landtag. His sickliness however prevented him from devoting his whole energy to the new era of Prussian public life that was then just beginning. He died on 5 January 1861 in

. A broad body of knowledge, worldly wisdom and frankness secured him a significant personal reputation from early on. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnim, Heinrich Alexander von 1798 births 1861 deaths Prussian diplomats Prussian politicians 19th-century diplomats Ambassadors of Prussia to France Foreign ministers of Prussia Heinrich Alexander Prussian Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars