Friedrich Johann von Alvensleben

Friedrich Johann Count of Alvensleben

Friedrich Johann Graf von Alvensleben (born April 9, 1836 in Erxleben , Neuhaldensleben district ; † September 16, 1913 there ) was a German diplomat and ambassador .

Life

origin

He came from the Low German noble family von Alvensleben and was born at Erxleben Castle . He was the second son of Ferdinand Graf von Alvensleben (1803-1889) on Erxleben I, a member of the Prussian mansion and real secret council , and his wife Pauline, born von der Schulenburg (1810-1882) from Priemern (now part of Bretsch ). His older brother was Friedrich Joachim von Alvensleben (1833-1912), district administrator of the district Neuhaldensleben from 1863 to 1901. His sister Margarethe von Alvensleben(1840–1899) was abbess of the Stift zum Heiligengrabe monastery from 1893 until her death .

Career

Alvensleben graduated from the pedagogy in Halle (Saale) , studied law at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin and, after working as an auscultator and trainee lawyer , joined the diplomatic service in 1861 as an embassy attaché in Brussels . In 1863 he passed the diplomatic exam. Activities as legation secretary in Stuttgart , Munich , Dresden , Saint Petersburg and Washington followed . In 1871 he was appointed to the special office of Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck . The other stops were in 1872 Counselor in St. Petersburg, 1876 Consul General in Bucharest , 1879 Minister Resident in Darmstadt , 1882 Ambassador in The Hague , 1884 in Washington, 1888 in Brussels and finally 1900-1905 Ambassador in St. Petersburg. The last years of his life he devoted himself to the management of his estates Erxleben I and Eimersleben, which had come to him in the fraternal division by lot.

family

On May 14, 1897, he married Pauline von Roeder (1842–1914), widow of General of the Infantry Rudolf von Winterfeldt (1829–1894). The marriage remained childless.

Achievement and honors

According to Reich Chancellor Bismarck's judgment, he was one of his most capable employees in the Foreign Office . He therefore proposed him in 1890 as the successor to his son Herbert von Bismarck as State Secretary in the Foreign Office. Despite urgent requests from Emperor Wilhelm II , Caprivis and Herbert von Bismarcks, he refused to accept this office, as did the ambassadorial post in Washington in 1893. As ambassador in St. Petersburg he distanced himself several times from the political methods of the Foreign Office in Berlin in an effort to fight Germany's isolation.

When he retired at the age of 69 after 45 years of service, he received the Order of the Black Eagle , the highest Prussian honor. In 1906 he was appointed a lifelong member of the Prussian manor house.

He was a member of the Corps Borussia Bonn .

literature

• Hellmut Kretzschmar : Historical news from the von Alvensleben family since 1800. Burg 1930, pp. 10–12.
• Werner women's service : Friedrich-Johann Graf von Alvensleben-Erxleben. The German Ambassador in Petersburg during the Russo-Japanese War. A biographical sketch to commemorate his 100th birthday on April 9, 1936. Leipzig 1936, p. 39.
• Udo von Alvensleben:  Alvensleben, Friedrich Johann Graf von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 232 ( digitized version ).
• Rudolf Peisker: Alvensleben, Friedrich Johann Graf von. In: Guido Heinrich, Gunter Schandera (ed.): Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon 19th and 20th centuries. Biographical lexicon for the state capital Magdeburg and the districts of Bördekreis, Jerichower Land, Ohrekreis and Schönebeck. Scriptum, Magdeburg 2002, ISBN 3-933046-49-1 , pp. 8-9.
• Hartwin Spenkuch (arr.): The minutes of the Prussian State Ministry 1817–1934 / 38. Vol. 8 / II. In: Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): Acta Borussica . New episode. Olms-Weidmann, Hildesheim 2003, ISBN 3-487-11827-0 , p. 483 ( Online ; PDF 2.19 MB).

Web links

• familie-von-alvensleben.de