The Generalinspekteur der Marine (Inspector-General of the Navy) was a position in the government of the German Empire. It was founded in 1871 as the command authority of the

German Imperial Admiralty The German Imperial Admiralty (german: Kaiserliche Admiralität) was an imperial naval authority in the German Empire. By order of Kaiser Wilhelm I the Northern German Federal Navy Department of the North German Confederation (1866–71), whi ...

and lasted intermittently to 1919. The first Inspector General was Admiral Prinz Adalbert of Prussia, who had held this position in the predecessor

Prussian Navy The Prussian Navy ( German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy ( German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867. The Prussian Navy was created in 1701 from the ...

and the Navy of the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

. He served under the emperor’s direct command, controlling inspections throughout the navy to maintain regulations for the highest efficiency. When Adalbert died on 6 June 1873, the position was left vacant. Only in March 1899, when

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

took over as the supreme commander of the Navy through the

Admiralstab The German Imperial Admiralty Staff (german: Admiralstab) was one of four command agencies for the administration of the Imperial German Navy from 1899 to 1918. While the German Emperor Wilhelm II as commander-in-chief exercised supreme operation ...

(Admiralty Staff) was the Inspector General reactivated. Admiral Hans von Koester held the office from 14 March 1899 until 29 December 1906, when the office was again left vacant. Admiral

Prince Heinrich of Prussia A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

held the office from 1 October 1909 to 10 August 1918. There exists a similar office ( Inspekteur der Marine) in the navy of the modern

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

List of Generalinspekteur der Marine

{{Officeholder table end

Flags of the Generalinspekteur der Marine

File:Generalinspekteur der Marine 1899-1900.svg, Flag of the Generalinspekteur used 1899-1900 File:Generalinspekteur der Marine 1900.svg, Flag of the Generalinspekteur used shortly in 1900 File:Generalinspekteur der Marine.svg, Flag of the Generalinspekteur used 1900-1918

Sources

*Die organisatorische Entwicklung der Marine nebst Stellenbesetzung 1848 bis 1945 / Hans H. Hildebrand. - Osnabrück : Biblio-Verl.; (Formationsgeschichte und Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Streitkräfte 1815 - 1990 ; Teil II, Band.1, S.74 Imperial German Navy Naval history of Germany