
Lothar Bucher (25 October 1817 – 12 October 1892) was a German
publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists w ...
and trusted aide of German chancellor
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...
.
Bucher was born in
Neustettin,
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to t ...
, his father being master at a
gymnasium. After studying at the
University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established by Frederick Will ...
he adopted the legal profession. Elected a member of the National Assembly in
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
in 1848, he was an active leader against the democratic party. With others of his colleagues he was in 1850 brought to trial for having taken part in organizing a movement for refusal to pay taxes; he was condemned to fifteen months imprisonment in a fortress, but left the country before the sentence was executed.
For ten years he lived in exile, chiefly in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
; he acted as special correspondent of the ''National Zeitung'', and gained a great knowledge of English life; and he published a work, ''Der Parliamentarismus wie er ist'', a criticism of
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
ary government, which shows a marked change in his political opinions.
In 1860, Bucher returned to Germany, and became intimate with
Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle (; 11 April 1825 – 31 August 1864) was a Prussian-German Confederation, German jurist, philosopher, Socialism, socialist and political activist best remembered as the initiator of the social democracy, social democratic move ...
, who made him his
literary executor
The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed w ...
. In 1864 he was offered by Bismarck a high position in the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n foreign office, which he accepted. The reasons that led him to a step which involved so complete a break with his earlier friends and associations are not clearly known. From this time until his death he acted as Bismarck's aide, gaining a large amount of his confidence.
It was Bucher who drew up the text of the constitution of the
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
; in 1870 he was sent on a confidential mission to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
in connection with the
Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
candidature for the Spanish crown , (although
Eyck Eyck may refer to:
*Eyck Zimmer (born 1969), German born English chef
*Carolina Eyck (born 1987), German musician
*Charles Eyck (1897-1983), Dutch visual artist
*Erich Eyck (1878–1964), German historian
See also
*Van Eyck (disambiguation)
*T ...
states that it was in fact the Prussian diplomat and historian
Theordor von Bernhardi); he assisted Bismarck at the final negotiations for the
Treaty of Frankfurt, and was one of the secretaries to the
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at ...
; he also assisted Bismarck in the composition of his memoirs.
Bucher, who was a man of great ability, had considerable influence, which was especially directed against the economic doctrines of the
Liberals; in 1881 he published a pamphlet criticizing the influence and principles of the
Cobden Club
The Cobden Club was a society and publishing imprint, based in London, run along the lines of a gentlemen's club of the Victorian era, but without permanent club premises of its own. Founded in 1866 by Thomas Bayley Potter for believers in Free ...
. He identified himself completely with Bismarck's later commercial and colonial policy, and probably had much to do with introducing it, and he did much to encourage anti-
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English ...
feeling in Germany. He died at
Glion,
Switzerland.
References
*
*Eyck, Erich 'Bismarck and the German Empire' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1950) page 166
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucher, Lothar
1817 births
1892 deaths
People from Szczecinek
German tax resisters
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
People from the Province of Pomerania
Prussian diplomats
Members of the Prussian National Assembly
German political consultants