Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill, (20 February 182925 August 1884), styled Lord Odo Russell between 1872 and 1881, was a British diplomat and the first British Ambassador to the German Empire.

Background and education

Russell was born in Florence, Tuscany, into the Russell family, one of England's leading Whig aristocratic families. His father was Major-General Lord George Russell, second son of the 6th Duke of Bedford. His mother was

Elizabeth Anne Rawdon Elizabeth Anne, Lady William Russell (2 October 1793 – 10 August 1874) was the wife of Lord George Russell and a well-known socialite. Early life Elizabeth Anne Theophila Rawdon was born on 2 October 1793, child of Frances (''née'' Hall-S ...

, daughter of John Theophilus Rawdon and niece of the 1st Marquess of Hastings. His uncle was the 1st Earl Russell, twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.thepeerage.com Odo William Leopold Russell, 1st Baron Ampthill
/ref> His education, like that of his two brothers,

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

and Arthur, was carried on entirely at home, under the general direction of his mother.

Diplomatic career

In March 1849 Russell was appointed by Lord Malmesbury as attaché at Vienna. From 1850 to 1852 he was temporarily employed in the foreign office, whence he passed to Paris. He remained there, however, only about two months, when he was transferred to Vienna. In 1853 he became second paid attaché at Paris, and in August 1854 he was transferred as first paid attaché to Constantinople, where he served under

Lord Stratford de Redcliffe Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, (4 November 1786 – 14 August 1880) was a British diplomat who became best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A cousin of George Canning, he served as Envoy E ...

. He had charge of the embassy during his chief's two visits to the Crimea in 1855, but left the East to work under Lord Napier at Washington in 1857. In the following year he became secretary of legation at Florence, but was detached from that place to reside in Rome, where he remained for twelve years, until August 1870. During all that period he was the real though unofficial representative of Britain at the Vatican. Russell's personal success with

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 J ...

led to his appointment as ambassador at Berlin in October 1871. He admired the new Germany and liked Germans: during his thirteen years in Berlin he never forfeited the confidence of Bismarck. Just as he had understood his Constantinople chief, Stratford de Redcliffe, and had never been broken by his suspicious rages, so too he achieved a sympathetic understanding of Bismarck. He withstood the Iron Chancellor's rages about real or imaginary plots, dispelled his darkest suspicions of British policy, and penetrated to the core of Bismarckian motives and strategy. For example, he reported to London in October 1872 how Bismarck's plans for a

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...

were backfiring by strengthening the ultramontane (pro-papal) position inside German Catholicism: :The German Bishops who were politically powerless in Germany and theologically in opposition to the Pope in Rome – have now become powerful political leaders in Germany and enthusiastic defenders of the now infallible Faith of Rome, united, disciplined, and thirsting for martyrdom, thanks to Bismarck's uncalled for antiliberal declaration of War on the freedom they had hitherto peacefully enjoyed. Russell was trusted by Victoria, the Crown Princess and the Hohenzollerns, but his cordiality to Bismarck's enemies was never tainted by the suspicion of intrigue. Nor was the objectivity of his dispatches compromised by his private belief that

must fail, or by his revulsion at Bismarck's persecution of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. From the outset, he recognised Germany's colonial aspirations, though his appreciation of this complex situation was imperfect. In 1879 he was responsible for the novelty of attaching a commercial expert to the Berlin embassy staff. After his eldest brother became eventually 9th Duke of Bedford in 1872, Russell was granted the rank of a younger son of a duke, becoming known as ''Lord Odo Russell''. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

the same year. He was subsequently made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1874, a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(GCMG) in 1879, and raised to the peerage as Baron Ampthill, of Ampthill in the County of Bedford, in 1881. He was British delegate at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, along with Disraeli and Salisbury.

Family

Lord Ampthill married Lady Emily Villiers, daughter of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, on 5 May 1868. They had six children: * Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, later 2nd Baron Ampthill (1869–1935) * Odo William Theopilus Villiers Russell (1870–1951). *Constance Evelyn Villiers Russell (1872–1942). *Victor Alexander Frederick Villiers Russell (1874–1965). *Alexander Victor Frederick Villiers Russell

CMG CMG may refer to: Companies * Capitol Music Group, a music label * China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC * China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector * ...

, MVO (1874–1965). *Augusta Louise Margaret Romola Villiers Russell (1879–1966).

Death

Lord Ampthill died of peritonitis on 25 August 1884, aged 54, at his summer villa at Potsdam, and was interred on 3 September in the 'Bedford Chapel' at St. Michael's Church, Chenies,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England. Bismarck thought him irreplaceable.link Oxforddnb.com
/ref> Lady Ampthill died in February 1927, aged 83.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ampthill, Odo Russell, 1st Baron 1829 births 1884 deaths 1 Diplomatic peers Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany Odo Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Russell, Odo Ampthill Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria