Franz von Ballestrem (5 September 1834 – 23 December 1910) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

entrepreneur, manager and politician for Centre Party.

Life

Franz von Ballestrem was born on 5 September 1834 in Plawniowitz (today Pławniowice in Poland). His parents were Carl Wolfgang von Ballestrem (1801–1879) and Betha von Leithold (1803–1874). He went to ''Adelskonvikt'' in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

. From 1848 to 1851 he went to school in

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–1998) ...

and

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

. He studied at ''Berg Academy'' in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. Since 1855 Ballestrem was in

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 co ...

and became in 1857 prussian army officer in 1st (Silesian) Life Cuirassiers "Great Elector". He was 1866 soldier in

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

and 1870/1871 in Franco-Prussian War. From 1867 he was

Rittmeister __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...

. After death of his father he owned

majorat ''Majorat'' () is a French term for an arrangement giving the right of succession to a specific parcel of property associated with a title of nobility to a single heir, based on male primogeniture. A majorat (fideicommis) would be inherited by th ...

in Plawniowitz in Silesia. From 1872 to 1893 and from 1898 to 1907 Ballestrem was member of the Reichstag 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 hereditary ...

. From 1898 to 1907 Ballestrem was president of the Reichstag. From 1891 to 1903 Ballestrem was also member of

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 ...

. In 1872 he was vicepresident of

Katholikentag ''Katholikentag'' () is a festival-like gathering in German-speaking countries organized by laity of the Catholic Church. ''Katholikentag'' festivals occur approximately every 2–4 years in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. ''Katholikentag'' ...

in Breslau. In 1890 he was founder and president of People's Association for Catholic Germany in Silesia. Since 1873 Ballestrem was

Papal gentleman A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting ...

(Camerieri Segreti di Spada e Cappa). He was member of

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

and of

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. On 21 June 1858 he married ''Hedwig Gräfin von Saurma, Freiin von und zu der Jeltsch'' (12 November 1838 – 5 March 1915). Together they had nine children: * Valentin Wolfgang Gustav Alexander Joseph Christian (21 December 1860 – 17 May 1920) ∞ Countess Agnes zu Stolberg-Stolberg (11 May 1874 – 26 March 1940) * Johann Baptists Wolfgang Karl Raphael (24 October 1866 –27 July 1929) * Pia Hedwigis Luise Katharina Viktoria (10 Februar 1869 – 10 July 1918) * Bertha Maria Ludmilla Maritia (7 April 1870 – 19 May 1939) * Gustav Franz Xaver Wolfgang Maria Friedrich Meinrad (born 16 April 1872 – 24 April 1909) * Leo Wolfgang (20 October 1873 – 4 July 1915) ∞ Eva von Durant (18 October 1882 – 10 April 1958) * Ludwig-Carl (5 October 1875 – 6 March 1957) * Elisabeth (16 April 1878 – 15 March 1969) * Marco (26 April 1881 – 17 April 1965) Franz von Ballestrem died on 23 December 1910 in Plawniowitz, at the age of 76.

Literature

* Eckhard Hansen, Florian Tennstedt (ed.) u. a.: ''Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte der deutschen Sozialpolitik 1871 bis 1945.'' Band 1: ''Sozialpolitiker im Deutschen Kaiserreich 1871 bis 1918.'' Kassel University Press, Kassel 2010, ISBN 978-3-86219-038-6, p. 7 f.
Online
pdf-file). *
Acta Borussica Band 8/I (1890–1900)
(pdf-file)
Acta Borussica Band 8/II (1890–1900) Kurzbiografie on p. 487.
(pdf-file)
Acta Borussica Band 9 (1900–1909) Kurzbiografie auf p. 329.
(pdf-file)
Acta Borussica Band 10 (1909–1918) Kurzbiografie auf p. 359.
(pdf-file) * Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der gräflichen Häuser auf das Jahr 1876
p.56

References

External links

* *
Biography on website Ballestremschen Firmen- and Familienarchivs

Literaturliste im Online-Katalog
der

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin This is a list of the state libraries (german: Landesbibliothek) for each of the Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany. These libraries hold the right for legal deposit for the publications in their respective state. Landesbibliothek S ...