Karl Rudolf Friedenthal (15 September 1827 – 7 March 1890) was a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

. Friedenthal was born in Breslau (Wrocław),

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

, as a

nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...

of Markus Bär Friedenthal, the author, and later became a convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(1832). He attended the gymnasium at Neisse (1839–44), studied law at Breslau,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, and became (1854) Kammergerichtsassessor. He also made himself practically acquainted with

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

in the management of his property. In 1856 Friedenthal was elected district deputy from Neisse (Nysa), and in 1857 deputy to the

Prussian Landtag The Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag) was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Represent ...

. In 1860 he published the pamphlet "''Salus Publica Suprema Lex''," urging the reorganization of the army. Elected to the Reichstag 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 ...

in 1867, he joined the "''Altliberalen''," but after the following election he became a Free Conservative. Successively member of the ''Zollparlament'' and of the imperial Reichstag, Friedenthal was prominent in the proposal and passage of many bills. During the Franco-Prussian War he took part, on

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 ...

's invitation, with Moritz Karl Henning von Blanckenburg and

Rudolf von Bennigsen Karl Wilhelm Rudolf von Bennigsen (10 July 1824, Lüneburg – 7 August 1902, Bennigsen near Springe) was a German politician descended from an old Hanoverian family. Biography Bennigsen was born at Lüneburg on 10 July 1824. He was desce ...

in the deliberations at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

on the constitution of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He was elected to the Prussian Chamber of Deputies in 1870, and became in 1873–74 its second

vice-president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

. In 1874 he was appointed

minister of agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

; and in 1879 the Department of Domains and Forests, till then under the minister of finance, was put in his charge. From October 1877 to March 1878, during the absence of

Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg Count Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg (29 June 1815 – 2 June 1881) was a Prussian diplomat and politician. He led the Eulenburg Expedition and secured the Prusso-Japanese Treaty of 24 January 1861, which was similar to other unequal treaties ...

, he was head of the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. In 1879, being unable to accept Bismarck's new economical policy, he resigned, declining a patent of nobility. In the same year he was elected member of the Upper House, but in 1881 resigned, and retired to the management of his estate, Giesmannsdorf, near Neisse. Besides his doctor dissertation, "''De Rerum Litigiosarum Alienatione ex Jure Romano''" (1845), Friedenthal published "''Reichstag und Zollparlament''"

References

* 1827 births 1890 deaths Politicians from Wrocław People from the Province of Silesia 19th-century German Jews German Lutherans Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism Free Conservative Party politicians Agriculture ministers of Prussia Members of the Prussian House of Representatives Members of the 1st Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 2nd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 3rd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 4th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Prussian House of Lords Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Heidelberg University alumni University of Breslau alumni 19th-century Lutherans {{Germany-hist-stub, Friedenthal Karl Rudolf