Adolf Freiherr Marschall von Bieberstein

Adolf Freiherr Marschall von Bieberstein

Baron Adolf Freiherr Marschall von Bieberstein (1842-1912), German diplomatist, was born at Carlsruhe Oct. 12 1842, his father РAugustus, Baron Marschall von Bieberstein Рbeing chamberlain to the Grand Duke of Baden, and his mother before her marriage Baroness von Falkenstein. He was educated at the Gymnasium of Frankfort-on-Main and at the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. He studied law and from 1871 to 1882 held various administrative offices in the Grand Duchy of Baden. From 1875 to 1883 he sat in the Upper Chamber of the Baden Diet. In 1883 he was sent to Berlin as minister for Baden in the Federal Council and from 1884 to 1890 he represented the Council in the Imperial Insurance Office. In 1890 he succeeded Count Herbert Bismarck as Secretary for Foreign Affairs under the Caprivi chancellorship and continued to hold that office under Prince von Hohenlohe; but he had incurred the enmity of Prince Bismarck by refusing his advice when he first assumed office, and the result was a fierce press campaign against him which finally obliged him to speak out when he appeared as a witness at the trial of certain journalists in 1896 for l̬se-majest̩. He was also violently opposed by the Agrarians because he advocated the reduction of corn duties, and in 1897 he resigned office, and a few months later was appointed German ambassador in Constantinople. There he remained for nearly 15 years, creating a commanding position for himself and a growing ascendancy in Turkish affairs for his Government. To him was largely due the promotion of the Bagdad railway.

In general European politics Baron Marschall had taken during his Foreign Secretaryship a strongly imperialist attitude. After the Jameson raid and the Emperor’s telegram to President Krüger, in the drafting of which Baron Marschall, according to the later testimony now available, bore a leading part, it was he who declared in the Reichstag that the maintenance of the independence of the Boer republics was a “German interest.” He was also an advocate of a strong naval policy for Germany. In 1907 he was principal German delegate in the Hague Conference, and was the exponent of Germany’s resolute and successful opposition to any practical discussion of the question of restriction of armaments. In May 1912 he was appointed to succeed Count Wolff-Metternich as ambassador to Great Britain, but he had only been in London a short time when his health finally broke down. He died at Badenweiler Sept. 24 1912.

Main Source: Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). 1922.

Alternative Biography

BIEBERSTEIN, Adolf Marschall von, Baron, German statesman: b. Karlsruhe, Germany, 1831; d Badenweiler, 24 Sept. 1912. Son of a court chamberlain of Baden, he studied law at Heidelberg and Freiburg, and entered the civil service of his native state. In 1878 he was sent to the Reichstag as a Conservative and appointed representative for Baden in the Federal Council (1883). In 1880 he succeeded Count Herbert Bismarck as Foreign Secretary, in which capacity he negotiated the commercial Treaties under Chancellor Caprivi. He incurred the bitter hostility of the Agrarians and certain court circles, and was the subject of a police intrigue which he defeated. The Kaiser’s historic telegram to President Kruger over the Jameson raid (5 Jan. 1896) is generally ascribed to him; he also declared that the independence of the South African Republic was a matter of vital interest to Germany. Political opposition compelled him to resign the Foreign Secretaryship in June 1897; four months later he was sent as Ambassador to Constantinople, where he revealed most remarkable ability as a diplomatist. He consolidated German influence in Turkey, obtained the Bagdad Railway concession which caused so much strife between interested European powers, especially with England, and brought about the downfall of the notorious Fehim Pasha, a favorite of Abdul Hamid and certainly the most disreputable villain in the Sultan’s entourage.

He had overreached himself by literally stealing a German vessel laden with lumber, which brought the energetic German Ambassador on his trail. When Fehim had to be dropped, all Constantinople rejoiced; the mob shortly after expressed their gratification by hanging him on a lamp-post in the street. After the Young Turk revolution (1908-09) Baron Marschall ingratiated himself with the new rulers, but hia position was severely shaken by the Turco-Italian War – the seizure of Tripoli being an equally bitter disappointment to both Germany and Turkey. Germany could not well interfere as she was an ally of both belligerents. On the retirement of Count Wolff-Metternich (8 May 1912) Baron Marschall was appointed Ambassador in London. It was hoped in England that the strongest man in German Diplomacy would help to place the relations between the two countries on a more satisfactory basis, but unfortunately he died four months later, before he had entered upon his new duties. His death was deeply regretted alike in London and Berlin.

Main Source: Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.

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