Melchior Hubert Paul Gustav Graf von Hatzfeldt zu Wildenburg (8 October 1831 – 22 November 1901) was a German diplomat who served as ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from 1885 to 1901. He was also envoy to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

foreign secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

, and head of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

. He is best known for signing the

Yangtze Agreement {{Short description, 1900 treaty between Great Britain and Germany The Yangtze Agreement was an agreement between Great Britain and Germany signed on October 6, 1900, signed by Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and Ambassador Paul von Hatzfeldt respect ...

in 1900.

Early life

Hatzfeldt was born in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

, a part of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

, on 8 October 1831. A member of the

House of Hatzfeld The House of Hatzfeld, also spelled Hatzfeldt, is the name of an ancient and influential German noble family, whose members played important roles in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia and Austria. History They belonged to high nobil ...

, he was the son of Sophie von Hatzfeldt ( Gräfin von Hatzfeldt-Schönstein zu Trachenberg) and Edmund Fürst von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg.

Career

Hatzfeldt had a long career in the German diplomatic office and was once described by

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 ...

as ''das beste Pferd im diplomatischen Stall'' ("the best horse in the diplomatic stable").Hermann von Eckardstein, ''Lebenserinnerungen u. Politische Denkwürdigkeiten'' (Leipzig: Verlag Paul List, 1919), 174. He was Bismarck's secretary when he was Ambassador to Paris in 1862. In 1874, he was appointed as German Ambassador to

in Madrid, followed by Ambassador to the

, before he was recalled in 1881 to become

and head of the

. In 1885, he succeeded Count

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

as ambassador to

until 1901, during which he signed the

in 1900. In 1897, it was reported that he would resign on account of ill-health, followed by similar reports in the years leading up to his actual retirement in November 1901, a few weeks before his death. He was succeeded by Count

Paul Wolff Metternich Paul Graf Wolff Metternich zur Gracht (December 5, 1853 – November 29, 1934) was a Prussian and German ambassador in London (1901–1912) and Constantinople (1915–1916). He was a prominent German opponent of Ottoman actions durin ...

. In his letter accepting Count von Hatzfeldt's request to retire, Emperor

Wilhelm II 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 ...

wrote: "I feel impelled to express my imperial thanks for the excellent services which, during the forty-four years of your official life, you have rendered to my predecessors on the throne, to myself, and to the whole Fatherland." Upon his retirement, the Emperor bestowed on him the

Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown The Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown (''Verdienstorden der Preußischen Krone'') was an award of civil and military merit established 18 January 1901 by King Wilhelm II on the occasion of the bicentennial of the establishment of the Kingdom of ...

as "a token of my good-will."

Personal life

Hatzfeldt was married to Helene Moulton (3 September 1846 – 9 April 1918), the daughter of New York real estate speculator Charles Frederick Moulton and Cesarinne Jeanne ( Metz) Moulton. They divorced in 1886, but were remarried two years later in order that their daughter might marry Prince Maximillian of

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * Helene "Nelly" Susanne Pauline Hubertine Luise von Hatzfeldt (3 March 1865 – 21 May 1901), who married Max Anthon Karl von Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1860–1922), a son of Prince

Hugo zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen Friedrich Wilhelm Eugen Karl ''Hugo'', Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen, Duke of Ujest (27 May 1816 – 23 August 1897) (German: ''Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Oehringen, Herzog von Ujest'') was a German nobleman, politician, mining industrialist and gener ...

and grandson of

August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen Frederick ''August'' Charles, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen (27 November 1784 – 15 February 1853) was a German general of the Napoleonic Wars and nobleman of the house of Hohenlohe. Early life August was born on 27 November 1784 in Breslau. ...

. * Paul "Hermann" Karl Hubert von Hatzfeldt (30 July 1867 – 12 June 1941), a diplomat who married Baroness Maria von Stumm (1882–1954). * Marie von Hatzfeldt (10 January 1871 – 15 April 1932), who married Friedrich Karl von Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1855–1910), brother of her sister's husband. Count von Hatzfeldt died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 22 November 1901. In 1910, his son inherited the title and properties of Paul's nephew, Prince Franz von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1901''
p. 70
/ref>

Sources

*Hermann von Eckardstein. ''Lebenserinnerungen u. Politische Denkwürdigkeiten.'' Leipzig: Verlag Paul List, 1919. * Vera Niehus: ''Ein »ambassadeur idéal«, jedoch »den Anstrengungen des ministeriellen Dienstes nicht gewachsen«: Paul von Hatzfeldt als außenpolitischer Mitarbeiter Bismarcks''. In:

Lothar Gall Lothar Gall (born 3 December 1936 in Lötzen, East Prussia, present day Poland) is a German historian known as "one of German liberalism's primary historians". He was professor of history at Goethe University Frankfurt from 1975 until his reti ...

, Ulrich Lappenküper (Hrsg.): ''Bismarcks Mitarbeiter''. Schöningh, Paderborn 2009, . * Franz-Eugen Volz: ''Paul Graf von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg''. In: ''Lebensbilder aus dem Kreis Altenkirchen''. Altenkirchen, 1975.

References

Notes Sources

External links

* 1831 births 1901 deaths Nobility from Düsseldorf House of Hatzfeld Foreign Secretaries of Germany Ambassadors of Germany to Spain Ambassadors of Germany to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Germany to Turkey Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Knights of Malta Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo {{Germany-diplomat-stub