Friedrich zu Eulenburg

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Friedrich Albrecht Count of Eulenburg (1815–1881)

Count Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg (born June 29, 1815 in Königsberg , † June 2, 1881 in Schöneberg near Berlin ) was a Prussian statesman.

Life

origin

His parents were Friedrich Leopold Count zu Eulenburg (1787–1845) on Perkuiken (East Prussia) and his wife Amalie von Kleist (1792–1830), daughter of the landscape director Christoph von Kleist .

Childhood and Education (1815–1843)

Friedrich zu Eulenburg comes from the noble family zu Eulenburg and spent his childhood on the parental estate Perkuiken, as well as the so-called Eulenburg house, the Königsstrasse 56 in Königsberg (today Ul. Frunze 13, Kaliningrad, Russia). During his school days at the Königsberg Gymnasium Fridericianum , he received additional training from Eduard von Simson , who later became President of the Reichstag. Friedrich Albrecht later described him as "the most talented person he has ever met". Fritz Albrecht left school as the best pupil and studied in Königsberg and Berlin, mastering both Latin and his mother tongue.

Zu Eulenburg, then 24 years old, had a relationship with the underage Bertha von Bismarck. From this emerged the later photographer, among other things participant in the Prussian East Asia Expedition 1859/62, interpreter and from 1874 consul of the German Empire in Tientsin Carl Heinrich Bismarck (1839–1879).

Start of professional career (1844-1859)

After completing his law and political sciences, Eulenburg initially worked as an “ auscultator ” in Königsberg and Frankfurt an der Oder, then as a trainee lawyer in Koblenz, Münster and Cologne.

This was followed by work as a government official in Opole . In 1844 he joined the Ministry of the Interior and in 1845 was transferred to the government college in Merseburg. His one-year vacation for a trip to the North American Free States, approved for 1848, did not materialize because he was appointed by Minister Hansmann as a government assessor in the Ministry of the Interior. From 1850 onwards by the king as a councilor, later appointed as a lecturer, Eulenburg was active in the Ministry of the Interior until 1852 and "during this time, often acting as government commissioner in the state parliament, his spirit and quick-wittedness attracted general attention". In 1852 he entered the diplomatic service , initially as consul general for Belgium in Antwerp . In 1859 Eulenburg, meanwhile with the dignity of chamberlain, was transferred to Warsaw as consul general, a post which he no longer took up due to his appointment as head of the first Prussian East Asia expedition.

Head and Extraordinary Minister of the Prussian East Asia Expedition, so-called Eulenburg Mission (1859–1862)

As a result of increased activities in foreign trade, Prussia needed its own trade agreements with promising partners in Southeast Asia and East Asia . In October 1859 Eulenburg was placed at the head of the Prussian East Asia Expedition , which was supposed to conclude trade, friendship and shipping treaties with Japan and China with the rank of extraordinary envoy and plenipotentiary minister . Due to great perseverance and skill, the treaty with Japan came about on January 24th, 1861 after more than five months of negotiations, and that with China on September 2nd, 1861. In addition, Eulenburg used the opportunity to inspect the rear of India ( Siam , Burma and Laos ) and to write a report on the economic and cultural situation.

Interior Minister and pioneer of the Prussian administrative reform (1862–1878)

After his return, Eulenburg refused to take over the Ministry of Commerce, instead Friedrich zu Eulenburg was appointed Minister of the Interior of Prussia on December 8, 1862. Before that, Bismarck campaigned massively with the king for Eulenburg's appointment as Minister of the Interior: ... "therefore ... the most capable and quick-witted force, who can undoubtedly be found in Count Eulenburg, must be brought to this position". In 1864 and 1866 new administrative areas fell to Prussia, Eulenburg used this for a comprehensive administrative reform also in the old provinces, with which he became one of the pioneers for the development of Prussia towards the rule of law.

Resignation and death (1878–1881)

As a result of this administrative reform, the oppositional stance of the Catholics in the West and the liberal forces in the East put him in a predicament, which Otto von Bismarck exacerbated with his uncompromising stance. After lengthy - not very fruitful - negotiations, he finally resigned on March 30, 1878. His successor was his nephew, Botho Wendt Graf zu Eulenburg . On June 2, 1881 Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg died unmarried in Schöneberg near Berlin and was subsequently buried on the estate of his nephew Philipp zu Eulenburg in Liebenberg .

Famous relatives

His direct nephew was the Prussian diplomat, politician and artist Philipp Fürst zu Eulenburg and Hertefeld , nephews of the second degree, the Prussian Interior Minister and Prime Minister (1892-1894) Botho Graf zu Eulenburg and the Royal Prussian High Court Marshal and House Minister August Graf zu Eulenburg . The composer Botho Sigwart Graf zu Eulenburg was his great-nephew.

literature

  • Peter Pantzer : The Eulenburg Mission and the establishment of German-Japanese relations In: Far companions - 150 years of German-Japanese relations . Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen & VDJ, Mannheim 2012.
  • Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler: Under the eyes of the Prussian eagle - lithographs, drawings and photographs of the participants in the Eulenburg expedition in Japan, 1860–1861 . Iudicum, Munich 2011.
  • Sonja Blaschke: End of the isolation of Japan and the Eulenburg mission . In: Germany and Japan - 150 years of friendship . M & K GmbH, Berlin 2011.
  • Masako Hiyama: Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg (1815–1881) . In: Bridge Builders. Pioneers of the Japanese-German cultural exchange. Iudicium, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89129-539-1 .
  • Holmer Stahncke (Hrsg.): Prussia's way to Japan - Japan in the reports of members of the Prussian East Asia expedition . Iudicium, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-89129-287-2 .
  • Gerhard Lange: The importance of the Prussian interior minister Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg for the development of Prussia towards the rule of law. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1993, ISBN 978-3428079094 .
  • Holmer Stahncke: The diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan 1854-1868. , Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag 1987.
  • Philipp Graf zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld (Ed.): East Asia 1860–1862 in letters from Count Fritz zu Eulenburg. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1900 ( online )
  • Friedrich-Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg: Ten Years of Internal Politics 1862–1872 - Speeches by the Minister of the Inner Count of Eulenburg R. v. Decker, Berlin 1872.
  • A. Lotz:  Eulenburg, Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 55, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1910, pp. 743-747.
  • Karl Erich Born:  Eulenburg, Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 681 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Sonja Blaschke, DER SPIEGEL: Japan photo treasure - DER SPIEGEL - history. Retrieved October 17, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Eulenburg, Friedrich zu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eulenburg, Friedrich Albrecht zu (full name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION Prussian statesman
DATE OF BIRTH June 29, 1815
PLACE OF BIRTH Koenigsberg
DATE OF DEATH June 2, 1881
Place of death Schöneberg near Berlin