Botho Wendt August

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

zu Eulenburg (31 July 1831 – 5 February 1912) was a

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 ...

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 ...

Early life and career

Eulenburg was born in Wicken near

Bartenstein Bartoszyce (pronounced , german: Bartenstein, ; lt, Barštynas) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geog ...

Biography
at

University of Oldenburg The Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (german: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg) is a university located in Oldenburg, Germany. It is one of the most important and highly regarded educational facilities in northwestern Germany ...

to Botho Heinrich zu Eulenburg (1804–1879) and Therese née von Dönhoff (1806–1882).Biography
at

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

He studied law at the universities of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

. Eulenburg worked in high positions of the Prussian and German administration in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

(1869–1872),

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

(president of the Département de la Lorraine; 1872–1873) and upper president of the

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, ...

(1873–1878). In March 1878 Eulenburg succeeded his first cousin once removed

Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg Count Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg (29 June 1815 – 2 June 1881) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian diplomat and politician. He led the Eulenburg Expedition and secured the Prusso-Japanese Treaty of 24 January 1861, which was similar to oth ...

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, serving under Bismarck. He implemented a series of repressive anti-socialist measures. From 1881 to 1892 he was the president of the province of

Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the p ...

Prime Minister of Prussia

In 1892, he was appointed

Prime Minister 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 ...

in succession to

Leo von Caprivi Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (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 who served as the cha ...

, who however remained Chancellor of Germany. Though Caprivi had recommended the experienced administrator Eulenburg for this appointment, the new prime minister soon made life difficult for Caprivi, and often thought of pressing for his removal. Both Caprivi and Eulenburg were eventually dismissed by Wilhelm II following the renewal of anti-Socialist moves (and an anti-subversion bill) in 1894. Eulenburg often thought of himself as the only possible successor to Caprivi, and he was extremely unhappy to be dismissed at what he regarded as the moment of his destiny. From 1899 until his death, Eulenburg was a member of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Repres ...

. He died in Berlin in 1912 and is buried in No. I cemetery of Trinity Church,

Berlin-Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it has ...

Personal life and family

Eulenburg was the older brother of

August zu Eulenburg August Ludwig Traugott Botho Graf zu Eulenburg (22 October 1838 – 16 June 1921) was an officer in the Prussian, and later German armies, and official in the Prussian royal court. He was the younger brother of Count Botho zu Eulenburg, who se ...

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of the Prussian royal court, and a second cousin of

Prince Philip of Eulenburg Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg and Hertefeld, Count of Sandels (german: Philipp Friedrich Karl Alexander Botho Fürst zu Eulenburg und Hertefeld Graf von Sandels; 12 February 1847 – 17 September 1921) was a diplomat and composer of Imperial Germ ...

, a close friend of

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

, and an instrumental figure behind the scenes of German politics. On 25 October 1875 he married at Neustadt,

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

Elisabeth von Alvensleben (22 September 1834 in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

– 5 September 1919 in Neustadt), by whom he had an only son, Botho (15 February 1879 in Berlin – 30 May 1881 in Berlin).

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908''
p. 57
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Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eulenburg, Botho Zu 1831 births 1912 deaths People from the Province of Prussia German Conservative Party politicians Counts of Germany Prime Ministers of Prussia Members of the Prussian House of Lords University of Königsberg alumni University of Bonn alumni Interior ministers of Prussia Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog category:Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion