Leo von Caprivi

Count Leo von Caprivi
Chancellor of Germany German Empire
In office 20 March 1890 – 26 October 1894
Monarch	Wilhelm II
Preceded by	Otto von Bismarck
Succeeded by	Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
Minister President of Prussia
In office 20 March 1890 – 23 March 1892
Monarch	Wilhelm II
Preceded by	Otto von Bismarck
Succeeded by	Botho zu Eulenburg
Personal details
Born	24 February 1831(1831-02-24) Charlottenburg, Kingdom of Prussia
Died	6 February 1899(1899-02-06) (aged 67) Skyren, German Empire
Political party	None
Signature

Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprera de Montecuccoli (English: Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprera, and Montecuccoli, born Georg Leo von Caprivi; 24 February 1831  – 6 February 1899) was a German major general and statesman, who succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany. Caprivi served as German Chancellor from March 1890 to October 1894. As part of Kaiser Wilhelm's "new course" in foreign policy, Caprivi abandoned Bismarck's military, economic, and ideological cooperation with Russia, and was unable to forge a close relationship with Britain. He negotiated commecial treaties and emphasized the reorganization of the German military. Most of all he demonstrated that an ordinary person could handle the jobs of chancellor.

Biography

He was born in Charlottenburg (then a town in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg, today a district of Berlin) the son of jurist Julius Leopold von Caprivi (1797 – 1865), who later became a judge at the Prussian supreme court and member of the Prussian House of Lords. His father's family was of Italian and Slovene origin, their original surname was Kopriva and they originated from Koprivnik (Nesseltal) near Kočevje in the Kočevski Rog (Hornwald) region of Lower Carniola (present-day Slovenia). The Caprivis were ennobled during the 17th century Ottoman–Habsburg wars, they later moved to Landau in Silesia. His mother was Emilie Köpke, daughter of Gustav Köpke, headmaster of the Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster and teacher of Caprivi's predecessor Otto von Bismarck.

Military career

Caprivi about 1880

Caprivi entered the Prussian Army in 1849 and served in the Second Schleswig War of 1864, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 as a major in the staff of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the latter as Chief of Staff of the X Army Corps. Backed by the Chief of the general staff Helmuth von Moltke, Caprivi achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and distinguished himself at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour, the Siege of Metz and the Battle of Beaune-la-Rolande, receiving the military order Pour le Mérite.

After the war he served at the Prussian War Ministry. In 1882, he became commander of the 30th Infantry Division at Metz. In 1883, he succeeded Albrecht von Stosch - a fierce opponent of Chancellor Bismarck - as Chief of the Imperial Navy. The appointment was made by Bismarck, and caused great dissatisfaction among the officers of the navy. However, Caprivi showed significant administrative talent in the position. Caprivi's dissents with the naval policy of Emperor Wilhelm II led to his resignation in 1888. He was briefly appointed to the command of his old army corps, the X Army Corps stationed in Hanover, before being summoned to Berlin by Emperor Wilhelm II in February 1890. Caprivi was informed that he was the Kaiser's intended choice should Bismarck prove resistant to Wilhelm's proposed changes to the government, and upon Bismarck's dismissal on 18 March, Caprivi became Chancellor.

Chancellor of Germany

Caprivi's administration was marked by what is known to historians as the Neuer Kurs ("New Course")[1] in both foreign and domestic policy, with moves towards conciliation of the Social Democrats on the domestic front, and towards a pro-British foreign policy, exemplified by the Anglo-German Agreement of July 1890, in which the British ceded the island of Heligoland to Germany in exchange for control of Zanzibar. This led to animosity from the colonialist pressure-groups like the Alldeutscher Verband, while Caprivi's free trading policies led to opposition from conservative agrarian protectionists. The treaty also gave Germany the Caprivi Strip, which was added to German South West Africa, thus linking that territory with the Zambezi River, which he had hoped to use for trade and communications with eastern Africa (the river proved to be unnavigable). He opposed the ideas of a preventive war against Russia developed by General Alfred von Waldersee, nevertheless he conformed to the decision of Emperor Wilhelm and the like-minded officials of the Foreign Office around Friedrich von Holstein not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty, whereafter Russia forged the Alliance with France.

The rejection by the Conservatives intensified, accompanied with constant public attacks by retired Bismarck. Caprivi also lost the support of the National Liberals and Progressives in a legislative defeat of 1892 on an educational bill providing denominational board schools, a failed attempt to re-integrate the Catholic Centre Party after the Kulturkampf. Caprivi had to resign as Prussian Minister President and was replaced by Count Botho zu Eulenburg, leading to an untenable division of powers between the Chancellor and the Prussian premier, ultimately leading to the dismissal of both in 1894 and their succession by Prince Chlodwig von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.

His principal achievements were the army bills of 1892 and 1893, and the commercial treaty with Russia in 1894.

Notes

Regarding personal names: Graf was a title until 1919, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany, however, since 1919 Graf/Gräfin is no title any more but part of the surname and thus following the given name(s) and not to be translated.

Further reading

• Sempell, Charlotte. "The Constitutional and Political Problems of the Second Chancellor, Leo Von Caprivi," Journal of Modern History, (Sept 1953) 25#3 pp 234-254, in JSTOR
• Sontag, Raymond James. Germany and England: Background of Conflict, 1848-1894 (1938) ch 9

External links

• Die Reden des Grafen von Caprivi im deutschen Reichstage, preussischen Landtage und besondern Anlässen "The Speeches of Count von Caprivi in the German Reichstag, in the Prussian Landtag, and on special occasions" in German (Google Book)

Political offices
Preceded by Otto von Bismarck	Prime Minister of Prussia 1890 – 1892	Succeeded by Count Eulenburg
	Chancellor of Germany 1890 – 1894	Succeeded by Prince Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst