Adolf Heinrich Graf von Arnim-Boitzenburg (10 April 1803 – 8 January 1868) was a German
statesman
A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level.
Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
* ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
. He served as the first
Minister-President of Prussia
The office of Minister-President (german: Ministerpräsident), or Prime Minister, of Prussia existed from 1848, when it was formed by King Frederick William IV during the 1848–49 Revolution, until the abolition of Prussia in 1947 by the Alli ...
for ten days during the
Revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
.
Biography
Arnim was born in the
Prussian
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 e ...
capital
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, the son of envoy Friedrich Abraham Wilhelm von Arnim (1767–1812) and his wife Georgine von Wallmoden-Grimborn (1770–1859), a daughter of the
Hanoverian field marshal and art collector
Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn
Johann Ludwig Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn (22 April 1736 in Hanover – 10 October 1811 in Hanover) was a Germans, German lieutenant-general and art collector.
Life
Wallmoden was an illegitimate son of George II of Great Britain by his ...
and thereby presumably a granddaughter of King
George II of Great Britain
, house = Hanover
, religion = Protestant
, father = George I of Great Britain
, mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle
, birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683
, birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...
. His parents divorced when he was three years old.
Having finished his studies in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
in 1825, he joined the Prussian Guards Uhlans regiment as
a One-year volunteer and afterwards entered civil service at the
Kammergericht
The Kammergericht (KG) is the ''Oberlandesgericht'', the highest state court, for the city-state of Berlin, Germany. As an ordinary court according to the German Courts Constitution Act (''Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz''), it deals with criminal a ...
. In 1830, he was appointed ''Landrat'' official in the
Uckermark
The Uckermark () is a historical region in northeastern Germany, straddles the Uckermark (district), Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau.
Geogra ...
district. In 1833, he became Vice-president of the Pomeranian
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
government region. One year later, he later assumed the position of President in the
Aix-la-Chapelle
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
(Aachen) region, from 1838 in
Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. In 1840 he became governor (''Oberpräsident'') of the
Grand Duchy of Posen
The Grand Duchy of Posen (german: Großherzogtum Posen; pl, Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the ...
.
In 1842 Arnim was called back to Berlin to be appointed Prussian
State Minister of the Interior. Nevertheless, he resigned in 1845. For his plans to draft a
Prussian Constitution came to an end by King
Frederick William IV
Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...
. When the March Revolution broke out in 1848, his services were again in demand. From 19 March 1848, he acted as the first Prussian Minister-President and
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
. However, he again resigned within a few days after the king chose to place himself at the head of the revolutionary movement.
A member of the
Provincial
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
Brandenburg ''
Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
'' assembly since 1839, Arnim from 18 May to 10 June 1848 was a representative for
Prenzlau
Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark (district), Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region.
Geography
The town is located on the Uecker, Ucke ...
in the
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...
and also was a member of the short-lived
Erfurt Union
The Erfurt Union (german: Erfurter Union) was a short-lived union of List of German Confederation member states, German states under a federation, proposed by the Kingdom of Prussia at Erfurt, for which the Erfurt Union Parliament (''Erfurter Un ...
Parliament in 1850. He belonged to the newly established
Prussian House of Representatives
The Prussian House of Representatives (german: Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus) was the lower chamber of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the upper house, the House of ...
from 1849 and later joined the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
chamber of the
Prussian Parliament
The Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag) was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Representat ...
.
Arnim is known to this day for his remarks as Prussian Interior Minister during the ''
Vormärz
' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after the ...
'' era concerning
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...
's poem ''
The Silesian Weavers
"The Silesian Weavers" (also: Weaver-song) is a poem by Heinrich Heine written in 1844. It is exemplary of the political poetry of the Vormärz movement. It is about the misery of the Silesian weavers, who in 1844 ventured an uprising against expl ...
''. The verses were published in the ''
Vorwärts!
''Vorwärts!'' (, ''Forward!'') was a biweekly newspaper published in Paris from January to December 1844. The journal was seen as "the most radical" in contemporary Europe. The newspaper circulation was about a thousand copies. It had a subtit ...
'' weekly newspaper after an 1844 riot in the
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...
, which later also inspired the drama
''The Weavers'' by
Gerhart Hauptmann
Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He recei ...
. In a report to King Frederick William IV he described Heine's poetry as "an address to the poor amongst the populace, held in an inflammatory tone and filled with criminal utterances" ("''eine in aufrührerischem Ton gehaltene und mit verbrecherischen Äußerungen angefüllte Ansprache an die Armen im Volke''"). Subsequently, the Royal Prussian Kammergericht banned the poem, which in 1846 led to a prison sentence for a person who had dared to publicly recite it.
Arnim died on 8 January 1868 at his
Boitzenburg estate.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnim-Boitzenburg, Adolf Heinrich von
1803 births
1868 deaths
Politicians from Berlin
Members of the Prussian House of Lords
People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg
Prime Ministers of Prussia
Members of the Frankfurt Parliament
Foreign ministers of Prussia
Interior ministers of Prussia
Adolf Heinrich
Members of the Provincial Parliament of Brandenburg
Provincial Presidents of Posen