View source for Paul von Hatzfeldt

{{Short description|German diplomat (1831–1901)}}
{{Infobox ambassador
 | honorific_prefix = 
 | name             = Paul von Hatzfeldt
 | honorific_suffix = 
 | image            = File:Count Paul von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg.jpg
 | alt              = 
 | order            =  
 | office           = [[German Ambassador to the United Kingdom]]
 | monarch          = [[Wilhelm I]]<br>[[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick III]]<br>[[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]]
 | chancellor       = 
 | term_start       = 23 November 1885 
 | term_end         = 14 November 1901
 | predecessor      = [[Georg Herbert Münster|Georg Herbert zu Münster]]
 | successor        = [[Paul Wolff Metternich]]
 | office1          = [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany)#State Secretaries for Foreign Affairs (1871–1919)|State Secretary for Foreign Affairs]]
 | monarch1         = [[Wilhelm I]] 
 | chancellor1      = [[Otto von Bismarck]]
 | term_start1      = 16 July 1881
 | term_end1        = 24 October 1885
 | predecessor1     = [[Clemens Busch]]
 | successor1       = [[Herbert von Bismarck]]
 | office2          = [[German Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire]]
 | monarch2         = [[Wilhelm I]] 
 | chancellor2      = 
 | term_start2      = 12 July 1878
 | term_end2        = 15 July 1881
 | predecessor2     = [[Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz|Prince Heinrich VII Reuss of Köstritz]]
 | successor2       = [[Joseph Maria von Radowitz Jr.|Joseph Maria von Radowitz]]
 | office3          = German Minister to [[Spanish Restoration|Spain]]
 | monarch3         = [[Wilhelm I]] 
 | chancellor3      = 
 | term_start3      = 20 August 1874
 | term_end3        = 12 July 1878
 | predecessor3     = Julius von Canitz und Dallwitz
 | successor3       = Eberhard zu Solms-Sonnenwalde
 | pronunciation    = 
 | birth_name       = 
 | birth_date       = {{Birth date|1831|10|8|df=y}}
 | birth_place      = [[Düsseldorf]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]], [[German Confederation]]
 | death_date       = {{Death date and age|1901|11|22|1831|10|8|df=y}}
 | death_place      = [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
 | death_cause      = 
 | resting_place    = 
 | resting_place_coordinates = 
 | citizenship      = 
 | nationality      = 
 | party            = 
 | otherparty       =  
 | height           =  
 | spouse           = Helene Moulton
 | relations        = 
 | children         = 3
 | mother           = [[Sophie von Hatzfeldt]] 
 | father           = Edmund von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg 
 | relatives        = [[Hermann von Hatzfeldt]] (cousin)
 | residence        = 
 | education        = 
 | alma_mater       = 
 | occupation       = Diplomat
 | awards           = 
 | allegiance       = 
 | branch           = 
 | serviceyears     = 
 | rank             = 
 | battles          = 
 | mawards          = 
}}
'''Melchior Hubert Paul Gustav Graf von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg''' (8 October 1831 – 22 November 1901) was a German diplomat who served as ambassador to the [[United Kingdom]] from 1885 to 1901. He was also envoy to [[Spanish Restoration|Spain]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]], [[Foreign Minister of Germany|foreign secretary]], and head of the [[Foreign Office (Germany)|Foreign Office]]. He is best known for signing the [[Yangtze Agreement]] in 1900.

== Early life ==
Born into the [[House of Hatzfeld]], Paul was born in [[Düsseldorf]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]], a part of the [[German Confederation]], on 8 October 1831. He was the son of Count Edmund Gottfried Cornelius Hubert von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg (1798–1874) and his wife, Countess [[Sophie von Hatzfeldt|Sophie von Hatzfeldt-Trachenberg]], member of the other branch of the same noble family.

== Career ==
Hatzfeldt had a long career in the German diplomatic office and was once described by [[Otto von Bismarck]] as ''das beste Pferd im diplomatischen Stall'' ("the best horse in the diplomatic stable").<ref name="Eckardstein1919">Hermann von Eckardstein, ''Lebenserinnerungen u. Politische Denkwürdigkeiten'' (Leipzig: Verlag Paul List, 1919), p. 174.</ref> He was Bismarck's secretary when he was Ambassador to [[Paris]] in 1862.

In 1874, he was appointed as German Minister to [[Spanish Restoration|Spain]] in [[Madrid]], followed by Ambassador to the [[Ottoman Empire]], before he was recalled in 1881 to become [[Foreign Minister of Germany|foreign secretary]] and head of the [[Foreign Office (Germany)|Foreign Office]]. In 1885, he succeeded Count [[Georg Herbert Münster|Münster]] as ambassador to [[United Kingdom]] until 1901, during which he signed the [[Yangtze Agreement]] in 1900. In 1897, it was reported that he would resign on account of ill-health, followed by similar reports in the years leading up to his actual retirement in November 1901, a few weeks before his death.<ref name="1901retires"/> He was succeeded by Count [[Paul Wolff Metternich]].<ref name="1901retires"/>

In his letter accepting Count von Hatzfeldt's request to retire, Emperor [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] wrote: "I feel impelled to express my imperial thanks for the excellent services which, during the forty-four years of your official life, you have rendered to my predecessors on the throne, to myself, and to the whole Fatherland." Upon his retirement, the Emperor bestowed on him the [[Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown]] as "a token of my good-will."<ref name="1901retires">{{cite news |title=GERMAN AMBASSADOR IN LONDON TO RETIRE.; Count von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg Will Be Succeeded by Count Wolff von Metternich. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/11/13/archives/german-ambassador-in-london-to-retire-count-von-hatzfeldtwildenburg.html |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=13 November 1901}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Hatzfeldt was married on 24 November 1863 in Paris Helene Moulton (3 September 1846 – 9 April 1918), the daughter of New York real estate speculator Charles Frederick Moulton and Cesarinne Jeanne ({{nee}} Metz) Moulton.<ref name="1911Nobles">{{cite news |last1=Diplomat |first1=A. Veteran |title=SOME EUROPEAN NOBLES THAT ARE ALMOST AMERICANS; The Family Histories of Prince Hermann Hatzfeldt and Baroness Stumm, Who Are Soon to Wed, Show Their Close Relation to This Country. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/03/12/archives/some-european-nobles-that-are-almost-americans-the-family-histories.html |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=12 March 1911}}</ref> They divorced in 1886, but were remarried two years later in order that their daughter might marry Prince Max of [[Hohenlohe-Öhringen]]. Together, they were the parents of:<ref name="1911Nobles"/>

* Helene ''Nelly'' Susanne Pauline Hubertine Luise (3 March 1865 – 21 May 1901), who married Prince Max Anthon Karl zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1860–1922), a son of Prince [[Hugo zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen]] and grandson of [[August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen]].<ref name="1911Nobles"/><ref name="auto">''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'', vol. 75, 1980, pp. 141, 143.</ref>
* Paul ''Hermann'' Karl Hubert (30 July 1867 – 10 June 1941), a diplomat who married Baroness Maria von Stumm (1882–1954), daughter of diplomat Baron [[Ferdinand Eduard von Stumm]].<ref name="1911Engagement">{{cite news |last1=Times |first1=Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph To the New York |title=BETROTHED TO A PRINCE.; Fraulein von Stumm to Wed Prince Herman von Hatzfeldt. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/02/19/archives/betrothed-to-a-prince-fraulein-von-stumm-to-wed-prince-herman-von.html |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=19 February 1911}}</ref><ref>''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'', vol. 1, 1951, p. 488.</ref>
* ''Marie'' Augusta Cesarinne Melanie (10 January 1871 – 15 April 1932), who married Prince Friedrich Karl zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1855–1910), brother of her sister's husband.<ref name="1911Nobles"/><ref name="auto"/>

Count von Hatzfeldt died in [[London]] on 22 November 1901.<ref name="1901CountObit">{{cite news |title=COUNT VON HATZFELDT DEAD.; German Ambassador to Great Britain Expires in London -- His Resignation Announced a Few Days Ago. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/11/23/archives/count-von-hatzfeldt-dead-german-ambassador-to-great-britain-expires.html |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 November 1901}}</ref> In 1910, his son inherited the title and properties of Paul's nephew, Prince [[Franz von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg]].<ref name="1910Inheritance">{{cite news |title=Big Fortune for Count Hatzfeldt. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/11/30/archives/big-fortune-for-count-hatzfeldt.html |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 November 1910}}</ref>{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Prince Franz Edmund von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg (1853–1910)<ref name="1910Obit">{{cite news |title=PRINCE HATZFELDT DEAD.; Was ex-Ambassador to England and Son-in-Law of Late C. P. Huntington. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/11/05/archives/prince-hatzfeldt-dead-was-exambassador-to-england-and-soninlaw-of.html |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 November 1910}}</ref> was married to [[Clara von Hatzfeldt|Clara Elizabeth Prentice]], the adopted daughter of American financier [[Collis P. Huntington]], in 1889.<ref name="1928PrincessClara">{{cite news |last1=TIMES |first1=Special Cable to THE NEW YORK |title=AMERICAN PRINCESS DIES IN ENGLAND; Widow of Prince Hatzfeldt Was Adopted Daughter of Late C.P. Huntington. BECAME A SOCIAL LEADER Child of a Poor Grocer Was Noted for Lavish Entertainments-- Left No Heirs. Daughter of Poor Grocer. Prince a Noted Gambler. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/12/19/archives/american-princess-dies-in-england-widow-of-prince-hatzfeldt-was.html |access-date=24 January 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=19 December 1928}}</ref>}}

== Honours ==
He received the following orders and decorations:<ref name="HofUndStaat">''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1901'', [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_-XUOAAAAYAAJ/page/n105/mode/2up p. 70]</ref>

=== German ===
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]]:
** [[Order of the Black Eagle|Knight of the Black Eagle]], ''18 June 1890''; with Collar, ''17 January 1891''<ref>{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.)|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878823&view=1up&seq=7&skin=2021|volume=1|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878823&view=1up&seq=11&skin=2021 5]|language=German|chapter=Schwarzer Adler-orden|location=Berlin|year=1886|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
** [[Iron Cross]] (1870), 2nd Class on White Band with Black Edge
** [[House Order of Hohenzollern|Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern]]
** [[Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown|Knight of Merit of the Prussian Crown]], ''8 November 1901'' - on his resignation as German Ambassador to London<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Count Hatzfeldt |date=13 November 1901 |page=5 |issue=36611}}</ref>
* {{flag|Baden}}: Knight of the [[Order of Berthold the First]]
* {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}:<ref>{{citation|title=Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern|year=1890|language=German|chapter=Königliche Orden|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hx3e6p&view=1up&seq=35|location=Munich|publisher=Druck and Verlag|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hx3e6p&view=1up&seq=58&skin=2021 30], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hx3e6p&view=1up&seq=111&skin=2021 83]|access-date=3 March 2021}}</ref>
** [[Order of Saint Michael (Bavaria)|Grand Cross of the Merit Order of St. Michael]], ''1877''
** [[Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown|Grand Cross of Merit of the Bavarian Crown]], ''1883''
* {{flag|Brunswick}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Henry the Lion]]
* {{Flagicon image|Flagge Großherzogtümer Mecklenburg.svg}} [[Mecklenburg]]: [[Order of the Wendish Crown|Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown]], with Golden Crown
* {{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: [[Order of the White Falcon|Grand Cross of the White Falcon]]
* {{flag|Kingdom of Saxony}}: Grand Cross of the [[Albert Order]], with Golden Star, ''1887''<ref>{{cite book|author=Sachsen|title=Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901|year=1901|publisher=Heinrich|chapter=Königlich Orden|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030492006&view=1up&seq=185&skin=2021 145]|location=Dresden|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
* {{flag|Württemberg}}: [[Order of the Crown (Württemberg)|Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown]]

=== Foreign ===
* {{flagicon|Austrian Empire}} {{flagicon|Kingdom of Hungary|1915}} [[Austria-Hungary]]: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Leopold (Austria)|Imperial Order of Leopold]]
* {{flag|Belgium}}: [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold]]
* {{flagicon|Greece|royal}} [[Kingdom of Greece]]: [[Order of the Redeemer|Grand Cross of the Redeemer]]
* {{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}:
** [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus|Grand Cross of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
** [[Order of the Crown of Italy|Grand Officer of the Crown of Italy]]
* {{flag|Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}: Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion
* {{flag|Netherlands}}: [[Order of the Netherlands Lion|Knight of the Netherlands Lion]]
* {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}: [[Order of Osmanieh]], 1st Class in Diamonds
* {{flag|Kingdom of Romania}}: [[Order of the Star of Romania|Grand Cross of the Star of Romania]]
* {{flag|Russian Empire}}: [[Order of the White Eagle (Russia)|Knight of the White Eagle]]
* {{flagcountry|Restoration (Spain)}}: [[Order of Charles III|Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, with Collar]], ''28 May 1877''<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=264f3d2a-e000-42f5-9433-1122774e710a&page=136|chapter=Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III|title=Guía Oficial de España|date=1883|page=147|language=es}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Serbia}}: [[Order of the Cross of Takovo|Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Acović|first=Dragomir|title=Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima|year=2012|location=Belgrade|publisher=Službeni Glasnik|pages=607}}</ref>
* {{Flagicon|Thailand|1855}} [[Siam]]: [[Order of the Crown of Thailand|Grand Cross of the Crown of Siam]]
* {{flagicon|Two Sicilies}} [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Two Sicilian Royal Family]]: [[Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit|Knight of St. Ferdinand and Merit]]

== Ancestry ==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Paul, Count of Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg'''
|2= 2. Edmund Gottfried Cornelius, Count of Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg
|3= 3. [[Sophie von Hatzfeldt|Countess Sophie von Hatzfeldt-Trachenberg]]
|4= 4. Edmund Karl Eugen, Count of Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg
|5= 5. Baroness Friederike von Hersell
|6= 6. Franz Ludwig, Prince of Hatzfeldt-Trachenberg
|7= 7. Countess Friederike Karoline von der Schulenburg-Kehnert
|8= 8. Edmund Gottfried Wilhelm, Count of [[Hatzfeld family|Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg]]
|9= 9. Baroness Maria Anna Antonia von Cortenbach
|10= 10. Baron Klemens August von Hersell
|11= 11. Baroness Anna Maria von Bourscheidt-Burgbrohl
|12= 12. Karl Ferdinand, Count of Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg
|13= 13. Baroness Maria Anna Elisabeth von Venningen
|14= 14. Count Friedrich Wilhelm von der [[Schulenburg (surname)|Schulenburg-Kehnert]]
|15= 15. Helene Sophie Wilhelmine von Arnstedt
}}

== Sources ==
*Hermann von Eckardstein.  ''Lebenserinnerungen u. Politische Denkwürdigkeiten.''  Leipzig: Verlag Paul List, 1919.
* Vera Niehus: ''Ein »ambassadeur idéal«, jedoch »den Anstrengungen des ministeriellen Dienstes nicht gewachsen«: Paul von Hatzfeldt als außenpolitischer Mitarbeiter Bismarcks''. In: [[Lothar Gall]], Ulrich Lappenküper (Hrsg.): ''Bismarcks Mitarbeiter''. Schöningh, Paderborn 2009, {{ISBN|978-3-506-76591-8}}.
* Franz-Eugen Volz: ''Paul Graf von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg''. In: ''Lebensbilder aus dem Kreis Altenkirchen''. Altenkirchen, 1975.

== References ==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

'''Sources'''
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Paul von Hatzfeldt}}

{{Foreign Ministers of Germany}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatzfeldt, Paul Von}}
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1901 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from Düsseldorf]]
[[Category:House of Hatzfeld]]
[[Category:Foreign secretaries of Germany]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Germany to Spain]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Germany to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Germany to the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy)]]
[[Category:Knights of Malta]]
[[Category:Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo]]