Georg Herbert Fürst{{efn, {{German title Graf. His title was given as "The Count Munster" in the official British Government translations from the French of the treaties he signed at the Congress of Vienna (see for example Treaty between Prussia and Hanover, 29 May 1815).} zu Münster von Derneburg (23 December 1820 – 28 March 1902),{{cite journal , title=Münster von Derneburg, Georg Fürst , journal=Neue Deutsche Biographie , date=1997 , volume=18 , pages=535–537 , url=https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz70770.html , access-date=11 November 2018 , language=de{{cite news , title= Death of Prince Münster , work=
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
, page=8 , date=31 March 1902
also known by his earlier title of Count of Münster-Ledenburg, was a Hanoverian and later German diplomat and politician. He served as ambassador to London 1873–1885"Prince von Munster". ''Kalgoorlie Miner'', 9 October 1899, p. 2. Retrieved from Trove, 2 September 2017. and Paris (1885–1900).
Early life and education
Münster was born in London, where his father, Count Ernst zu Münster, was the Hanoverian Minister at the Court of King
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
Muschelkalk
The Muschelkalk (German for "shell-bearing limestone"; ) is a sequence of sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock strata (a lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic unit) in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Middle Triassic (240 to 230 m ...
around the town of
Bayreuth
Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
in
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
for more than 25 years.{{cite book , last1=Rieppel , first1=Olivier , title=Mesozoic Sea Dragons: Triassic Marine Life from the Ancient Tropical Lagoon of Monte San Giorgio , date=2019 , publisher=
Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...
, isbn=978-0-253-04013-8 , page=178 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ipmLDwAAQBAJ&dq=Georg+M%C3%BCnster&pg=PA178 , access-date=10 February 2021 , language=en
He studied law at the universities of
Bonn
Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
,
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
, and
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
. At 18, he inherited the family's considerable estate and hereditary seat in the Hanoverian parliament, the Estates Assembly of the Kingdom of Hanover. He also followed his father into the Hanoverian diplomatic service.
Career
From his father, Münster inherited strong
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...
sympathies and conservative viewpoints. During the German revolutions of 1848–49, he opposed reforms and the abolition of privileges for the nobility, and he voted against giving the Hanoverian National Assembly to right to pass laws for Hanover. During the early years of his own career, these family traditions kept him closely attached to the Hanoverian dynasty. Prom 1856–64, he was the Hanoverian Minister in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, the same post his father had held 50 years prior. In 1866, Münster tried and failed via diplomatic channels to bring understanding between Hanover and Prussia, and the latter annexed the former as a result of the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...
.
His subsequent rise in the Prussian diplomatic service was met with reproach by the Guelphs, but Münster was convinced that Germany could only be saved by strong Prussian leadership. "My conception of a true Hanoverian," he wrote, "is that he must be first of all a German." Münster represented the town of
Goslar
Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...
in the Reichstag from 1867–73, when he was appointed by
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
Court of St James's
The Court of St James's serves as the official royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The court formally receives all ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Likewise, ambassadors representing the United Kingdom are formally ...
.
Münster spent the next 28 years in London and Paris, and Münster contributed substantially to smoothing over many minor conflicts between France and Germany. He represented the German Empire at the 1889 Hague Convention, after which he received the title of Prince.{{cite news , title=PRINCE MUENSTER RESIGNS.; Gives Up German Ambassadorship at Paris on Account of His Great Age. , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/11/29/archives/prince-muenster-resigns-gives-up-german-ambassadorship-at-paris-on.html , access-date=10 February 2021 , work=
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, date=29 November 1900 In 1900, he was awarded the Order of the Black Eagle. In December 1901, he retired to his villa in Hanover.
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919†...
.
* Prince Ernst Adolf zu Münster von Grothaus (1856–1905), who married Princess Melanie Ghika de Dezsanfalva.
* Count Alexander Otto Hugo Wladimir zu Münster (1858–1922), who married Lady Muriel Henrietta Constance Hay (1863–1927), the youngest daughter of George Hay-Drummond, 12th Earl of Kinnoull, in 1890.
On 22 August 1865, he married secondly to Lady Elizabeth St Clair-Erskine at Dysart House. Lady Elizabeth was the only daughter of
James St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn
General James Alexander St Clair-Erskine, 3rd Earl of Rosslyn PC, DL (15 February 1802 – 16 June 1866), styled Lord Loughborough from 1805 to 1837, was a Scottish soldier and Tory politician. A General in the British Army, he also held poli ...
and his wife, the former Frances Wemyss.{{cite web , title=Rosslyn, Earl of (UK, 1801) , url=http://cracroftspeerage.co.uk/rosslyn1801.htm , website=www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk , publisher=Heraldic Media Limited , access-date=21 July 2020
Prince Münster died on 28 March 1902 in Hanover.
Honours and awards
He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1899'' p. 69 /ref>
{{columns-list, colwidth=25em,
* {{flagicon image, Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
:
** Knight of the Prussian Crown, 1st Class with Enamel Band of the Red Eagle, ''18 January 1877''{{citation, title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste, journal=Preussische Ordens-Liste, volume=1, url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878864&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021, page 554936 language=German, location=Berlin, year=1877, via=hathitrust.org
** Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal
House Order of Hohenzollern
The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...
, ''31 October 1885''
** Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar, ''1900''
* {{flagicon, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha {{flagicon, Saxe-Altenburg {{flagicon, Saxe-Meiningen
Ernestine duchies
The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose numb ...
* {{flagcountry, French Third Republic: Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
* {{flag, Kingdom of Hanover: Commander of the
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order (), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Kingdom of Hanover, Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name from the House ...
Lippe
Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...
: Cross of Honour of the House Order of Lippe, 1st Class
* {{Flagicon image, Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...
National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...