Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg (german: Herzog Johann Albrecht zu Mecklenburg;

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

s ''John Albert Ernest Constantine Frederick Henry''; 8 December 1857 – 16 February 1920) was a member of the

House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

who served as the regent of two states of the

German Empire The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...

. He was first regent of the

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German Con ...

from 1897 to 1901 for his cousin

Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Frederick Francis IV (Friedrich Franz Michael; 9 April 1882 – 17 November 1945) was the last Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and regent of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He inherited the throne when he was fifteen years old in 1897 and was forced to ...

, and thereafter regent of the Duchy of Brunswick from 1907 to 1913.

Birth and interests

Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg was born in Schwerin the fifth child of

Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Frederick Francis II ( German: ''Friedrich Franz II;'' 28 February 1823 – 15 April 1883) was a Prussian officer and Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 7 March 1842 until 15 April 1883. Biography He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust, the ...

and his first wife Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz (1822–1862). Duke John Albert was educated in Dresden, pursued a career in the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the cor ...

and was well known for his love of sports. He also developed an interest in Germany's colonial empire, co-founding

the Pan-German League The Pan-German League (german: Alldeutscher Verband) was a Pan-German nationalist organization which was officially founded in 1891, a year after the Zanzibar Treaty was signed. Primarily dedicated to the German Question of the time, it held pos ...

and becoming president of the

German Colonial Society The German Colonial Society (german: Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft) (DKG) was a German organisation formed on 19 December 1887 to promote German colonialism. The Society was formed through the merger of the (; established in 1882 in Frankfurt) an ...

in 1895.

Regencies

Following the death of his brother

Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Frederick Francis III (german: Friedrich Franz Paul Nikolaus Ernst Heinrich; 19 March 1851 – 10 April 1897) was the penultimate Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Biography He was born in Schloss Ludwigslust as the son of Frederick Francis II, ...

on 10 April 1897, Duke John Albert was appointed regent for his young nephew the new Grand Duke, Frederick Francis IV after his older brother Duke Paul Frederick had renounced his claim to the regency. He ruled as regent until his nephew came of age on 9 April 1901 when he assumed personal control of the Grand Duchy. On 28 May 1907, Duke John Albert was elected regent of the Duchy of Brunswick following the death of Prince Albert of Prussia by the state's

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

, accepting the offer he arrived in Brunswick on 5 June 1907. The reason for the regency in Brunswick was that in 1884 when

William, Duke of Brunswick '' , house = House of Brunswick-Bevern , father = Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , mother = Princess Marie of Baden , birth_date = , birth_place = Brunswick, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , death_date = , death_place = S ...

died his distant cousin and heir

Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover en, Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick , house = Hanover , father = George V of Hanover , mother = Marie of Saxe-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover , death_date = , death_place = Gmunden ...

was prevented from taking over the duchy because he refused to renounce his claim to the throne of the Kingdom of Hanover which had been annexed by Prussia in 1866. Shortly after assuming the regency, Duke John Albert would walk Brunswick in civilian clothes visiting museums, libraries and other institutions in the duchy, asking questions of people to discover their living conditions. After he became too well known to walk unnoticed he established a weekly audience where people could go and present a petition to him. Duke John Albert also cut down on the expenses of the royal household by cutting the number of

servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

s and retainers to the minimum needed to run the household. The regency came to an end on 1 November 1913 when Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover's son Ernest Augustus was permitted to ascend to Duchy following his marriage to Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia the only daughter of the German Emperor William II which helped heal the rift between the houses of Hanover and Hohenzollern.

War years

During the First World War Duke John Albert was active with the German Colonial Society in defending the Germany's colonial possessions from suggestions that they should be abandoned. On 2 September 1917 he was appointed honorary chairman of the pro war Fatherland Party. Duke John Albert died in 1920 in Wiligrad castle near Lübstorf aged 62.

Marriages

John Albert was married twice firstly in Weimar on 6 November 1886 to Princess Elisabeth Sybille of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1854–1908) the daughter of

Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , image = Held Carl Alexander Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach@Weimar Schlossmuseum.jpg , image_size = , caption = , succession = Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , reign = 8 July 1853 – 5 January 1901 , predecessor = ...

. He was married secondly in Brunswick on 15 December 1909 to Princess Elisabeth of Stolberg-Rossla (1885–1969), who would following his death marry his half brother Duke Adolf Friedrich in 1924. Both of John Albert's marriages were childless.

Ojimukoka

Ojimukoka, a small settlement, postoffice and railway station in Namibia, was renamed Johann - Albrechtshöhe, and then simply Albrechts in his honour.

Honours

;German decorations
Grossherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalendar
', 1908, p. 3 ;Foreign decorations

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:John Albert Of Mecklenburg, Duke 1857 births 1920 deaths People from Schwerin Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German Fatherland Party politicians Regents of Germany Generals of Cavalry (Prussia) Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Sons of monarchs