Heinrich Freiherr von Bülow (16 September 1792 – 6 February 1846) was a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n diplomat and Foreign Minister.

Career

Bülow, born to members of the noble

Bülow family The House of Bülow () is an old German nobility, German noble family with a danish nobility, Danish branch. Of Mecklenburg origin, its members have borne the title of Baron (''Freiherr''), Count (''Graf'') or Prince (''Fürst''). History T ...

, was educated at the ''Domschule Güstrow'', then studied law from 1810 onwards, at first in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

, then in

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 Geneva. In 1813 he joined the ''Walmodensche Korps'' as a lieutenant and was made adjutant to the Prussian colonel August Ludwig Ferdinand von Nostitz, on whose campaigns he distinguished himself several times. After the war, he dedicated himself to diplomacy, working under the minister

Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a German philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1949, the university was named aft ...

, when the latter led the negotiations on determining the borders of the German territories in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. He followed von Humboldt to London in 1817 as embassy secretary and in 1819 to Berlin, where he took over the section for trade and maritime affairs in the Prussian Foreign Office. Here he married Wilhelm von Humboldt's younger daughter Gabriele (1802–1887) in 1820. He was particularly successful and active in preparing the ''

Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of States of the German Confederation, German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1 ...

'' (German Customs Union) through the conclusion of customs agreements with the neighbouring states. Also as ambassador to London, to which he was appointed in 1827, he worked to advance the ''Zollverein''. He won the trust of the British statesmen and played a successful part in the negotiations over Belgium and the Eastern Question (1840–41). In autumn 1841 he was made envoy to the Bundestag in Frankfurt am Main, but already on 2 April 1842 was appointed Foreign Minister of Prussia in place of Mortimer von Maltzan. He and the

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Hermann von Boyen Leopold Hermann Ludwig von Boyen (20 June 1771 – 15 February 1848) was a Prussian army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th century. He also served as minister of war of Prussia in the period 1810–1813 and again f ...

belonged to the more liberal tendency in the cabinet, but had only a negligible influence on politics in general. Bülow left the government in 1845 and retired to

Tegel Tegel () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') in the Berlin borough of Reinickendorf on the shore of Lake Tegel. The Tegel locality, the second largest in area (after Köpenick) of the 96 Berlin districts, also includes the neighbourhood of ''Saatwinke ...

Career

Notes

See also