Heinrich von Kusserow

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Heinrich Kusserow , from 1844 von Kusserow (born November 5, 1836 in Cologne , † October 15, 1900 in Bassenheim ) was a Prussian and German diplomat and politician . He played a role as a proponent of early German colonial policy under Otto von Bismarck .

Life

family

He was the son of the later Prussian Lieutenant General Ferdinand von Kusserow and his wife Eveline, a daughter of Salomon Oppenheim . On November 27, 1844, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV raised his father to the hereditary nobility for himself and his family . His sister Ottilie was married to Adolph von Hansemann . In 1869 he married Antonie Springer, daughter of the banker and businessman Ernst Springer. In his second marriage he was married to Fanny, the widow of the merchant Adolf Bartning, from 1890. He had a son and five daughters from his first marriage and a son from his second marriage.

Career

Heinrich von Kusserow (second from right) as Bonn Hanseatic, 1854/55

Heinrich von Kusserow attended schools in Cologne and Düsseldorf after graduating from the Laurentianum grammar school in Arnsberg . He then studied law at the University of Bonn and became a member of the Corps Hansea . After the usual general preparatory service at courts and authorities, he joined the Prussian foreign service . Between 1860 and 1862 he was attache in The Hague , then legation secretary in Turin , before he moved to the Prussian Foreign Ministry in Berlin.

In 1861, Kusserow anonymously submitted a pamphlet on the peaceful solution of the German question , which contained ideas that Otto von Bismarck later implemented. In 1863, on the occasion of the Fürstentag in Frankfurt , he sent a memorandum on a German central authority and a central parliament to Bismarck, to which Bismarck responded with overwhelming approval.

Between 1864 and 1865 he was legation secretary at the Prussian embassy in Paris and then in Washington, DC until 1868. He then worked in the Federal Chancellery of the North German Confederation before serving as counselor for the embassy of the North German Confederation in London during the Franco-Prussian War .

After the founding of the empire, Kusserow was elected to the first German Reichstag in 1871 for the constituency of the administrative district of Düsseldorf 2 ( Elberfeld - Barmen ) . In parliament he belonged to the parliamentary group of the Liberal Reich Party . During this time he published a book on the law of the sea in war.

After the end of the legislative period, Kusserow returned to active foreign service in 1874. In the Foreign Office he initially worked as a real legation councilor and lecturer in the trade policy department. In 1879 he was appointed secret councilor. He was also Federal Commissioner in the Reichstag and as such was responsible for overseas questions.

Not least through his brother-in-law Adolph von Hansemann, Kusserow was active in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the interests of business circles interested in colonial policy and later of the colonial associations. In 1885, the increased importance of colonial policy was expressed by the fact that responsibility in the Foreign Office was transferred to the political department. The head of the colonial department located there was Kusserow. How great his influence was on Bismarck's decision to acquire colonies in Africa is not entirely clear. He was involved in the Congo Conference 1884–1885.

Heinrich von Kusserow family crypt, Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof Berlin

In 1885 Kusserow was appointed Prussian envoy in Hamburg for the Hanseatic cities and the Mecklenburg states. Even if in this position he played a certain role in the development of the first German colonies , his exaggerated commitment to colonial politics led to Bismarck falling out of favor. In 1890 he ran in vain as a candidate of the cartel parties for the Reichstag. As a result, he was given temporary retirement at his own request and with the honorary title of Real Secret Councilor.

He continued to be a leading advocate of an active colonial policy. He was also a member of the Ostmarkenverein and supported the armament of the fleet.

Old St. Matthew Cemetery Berlin, Heinrich von Kusserow grave plaque

Heinrich von Kusserow died on October 15, 1900 at Bassenheim Castle, he was buried in the family crypt in the Old St.Matthäus Kirchhof in Berlin / Schöneberg.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldatisches Führertum . Volume 6, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1938], DNB 367632810 , p. 309, no. 1933.
  2. ↑ Kösener Corps lists 1960, 11 , 70
  3. ↑ Georg Hirth (Ed.): German Parliament Almanach. 9th edition of May 9, 1871. Berlin: Verlag Franz Duncker, 1871, p. 216
  4. ^ Fritz Specht, Paul Schwabe: The Reichstag elections from 1867 to 1903. Statistics of the Reichstag elections together with the programs of the parties and a list of the elected representatives. 2nd Edition. Carl Heymann Verlag, Berlin 1904, p. 163; see. also A. Phillips (Ed.): The Reichstag elections from 1867 to 1883. Statistics of the elections for the constituent and North German Reichstag, for the customs parliament, as well as for the first five legislative periods of the German Reichstag . Berlin: Verlag Louis Gerschel, 1883, p. 102; see. also: Georg Hirth (Ed.): German Parliament Almanach . 9th edition of May 9, 1871. Berlin: Verlag Franz Duncker, 1868, p. 216
personal data
SURNAME Kusserow, Heinrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kusserow, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German diplomat, colonial advocate and politician (LRP), MdR
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne
DATE OF DEATH October 15, 1900
Place of death Bassenheim