7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7

Otto von Bismarck

(b. April 1, 1815, Schönhausen, Altmark, Prussia [Germany]—d. July

30, 1898, Friedrichsruh, near Hamburg)

O

tto von Bismarck served as prime minister of Prussia

from 1862–73 and 1873– 90 and was founder and first

chancellor (1871– 90) of the German Empire.

Early Years and Career

Bismarck was born in 1815 at Schönhausen, a family estate

in Prussia. He studied law at universities in Göttingen and

Berlin and then entered the Prussian civil service. After

leaving the service, he helped manage the family estates.

In 1847 he attended the Prussian United Diet, where his

speeches against Jewish emancipation and contemporary

liberalism gained him the reputation of a backwoods

conservative.

In 1849 Bismarck was elected to the Prussian

Chamber of Deputies (the lower chamber of the Prussian

Diet) and moved his family to Berlin. At this stage he

was far from a German nationalist. In 1851 Frederick

William IV appointed Bismarck as the Prussian repre-

sentative to the federal Diet in Frankfurt, a clear reward

for his loyalty to the monarchy. It was in Frankfurt that

Bismarck began to reassess his view of German national-

ism and the goals of Prussian foreign policy, which he felt

relegated Prussia to a status of a second-rate power in

central Europe.

Prime Minister

After serving as ambassador to Russia from 1859 to 1862

and France in 1862, he became prime minister and foreign