Otto von Bismarck

His Serene Highness Otto von Bismarck Prince of Bismarck
Bismarck in 1890
Chancellor of Germany
In office 21 March 1871 – 20 March 1890
Monarchs	Wilhelm I Friedrich III Wilhelm II
Deputy	Otto Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode Karl Heinrich von Boetticher
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Leo von Caprivi
Other offices held Federal Chancellor of the North German Confederation In office 1 July 1867 – 21 March 1871 President Wilhelm I Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Himself (as Chancellor of the German Empire) Minister President of Prussia In office 9 November 1873 – 20 March 1890 Monarchs Wilhelm I Friedrich III Wilhelm II Preceded by Albrecht von Roon Succeeded by Leo von Caprivi In office 23 September 1862 – 1 January 1873 Monarch Wilhelm I Preceded by Adolf zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen Succeeded by Albrecht von Roon Minister of Foreign Affairs In office 23 November 1862 – 20 March 1890 Prime Minister Himself Albrecht von Roon Preceded by Albrecht von Bernstorff Succeeded by Leo von Caprivi
Personal details
Born	Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1815-04-01)1 April 1815 Schönhausen, Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia
Died	30 July 1898(1898-07-30) (aged 83) Friedrichsruh, Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, German Empire
Resting place	Bismarck Mausoleum 53°31′38″N 10°20′9.96″E / 53.52722°N 10.3361000°E / 53.52722; 10.3361000
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Johanna von Puttkamer ​ ​ (m. 1847; died 1894)​
Children	Marie Herbert Wilhelm
Alma mater	University of Göttingen University of Berlin University of Greifswald
Occupation	Politician diplomat author farmer official
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	German Confederation  Kingdom of Prussia
Branch/service	Prussian Army Landwehr
Years of service	1838-1839
Rank	Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal
Awards	Pour le Mérite with oak leaves
Otto von Bismarck's voice Recorded 7 October 1889

Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (German: Otto, Fürst von Bismarck, Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen, Herzog zu Lauenburg, pronounced [ˈɔtoː fɔn ˈbɪsmaʁk] ^ⓘ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898; born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck) was a Prussian and later German statesman and diplomat. Bismarck's Realpolitik and powerful rule led to him being called the Iron Chancellor.

From Junker landowner origins, Bismarck rose rapidly in Prussian politics under King Wilhelm I of Prussia. He served as the Prussian ambassador to Russia and France and in both houses of the Prussian parliament. From 1862 to 1890, he was the minister president and foreign minister of Prussia. He dominated European affairs after he masterminded the unification of Germany in 1871 and served as the first chancellor of the German Empire until 1890. Bismarck provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria, and France. After Austria's defeat, he replaced the German Confederation with the North German Confederation and served as its chancellor. This aligned the smaller North German states with Prussia, but excluded Austria. After France's defeat with support from the independent South German states, he formed the German Empire and united Germany. With Prussian dominance accomplished by 1871, Bismarck used balance of power diplomacy to maintain Germany's position in a peaceful Europe. However, the annexation of Alsace–Lorraine caused French revanchism and Germanophobia. Juggling an interlocking series of conferences, negotiations, and alliances, he used his diplomatic skills to maintain Germany's position. Bismarck was averse to maritime colonialism, as he thought it a waste of German resources, but acquiesced to elite and mass opinion and built an overseas empire.

In his domestic political maneuvering, Bismarck created the first modern welfare state, with the goal of undermining his socialist opponents. In the 1870s, he allied himself with the anti-tariff, anti-Catholic Liberals and fought the Catholic Church in the Kulturkampf ("culture struggle"). This failed, as the Catholics responded by forming the powerful German Centre Party and using universal male suffrage to gain a bloc of seats. Bismarck responded by ending the Kulturkampf, breaking with the Liberals, enacting the Prussian deportations and forming an alliance with the Centre Party to fight the socialists. Bismarck was loyal to German Emperor Wilhelm I, who argued with Bismarck but supported him against the advice of Wilhelm's wife and son. While the Imperial Reichstag was elected by universal male suffrage, it did not control government policy. Bismarck distrusted democracy and ruled through a strong, well-trained bureaucracy with power in the hands of the traditional Junker elite. Wilhelm II dismissed Bismarck from office in 1890, and he retired to write his memoirs.

Bismarck is best remembered for his role in German unification. As head of Prussia and later Germany, Bismarck possessed not only a long-term national and international vision, but the short-term ability to juggle complex developments. He became a hero to German nationalists, who built monuments honouring him. He is praised as a visionary who kept the peace in Europe through adroit diplomacy, but he is criticized for persecution of Poles and Catholics and the centralization of executive power, which some describe as Caesarist. He is criticized by opponents of German nationalism, as nationalism became engrained in German culture, galvanizing the country to aggressively pursue nationalistic policies in both World Wars.