Paul von Hatzfeldt

Melchior Hubert Paul Gustav Graf[lower-alpha 1] von Hatzfeldt zu 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 Spain and the Ottoman Empire, foreign secretary, and head of the Foreign Office. He is best known for signing the Yangtze Agreement in 1900.

Paul von Hatzfeldt
German Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
23 November 1885 – 14 November 1901
MonarchsWilhelm I
Frederick III
Wilhelm II
Preceded byGeorg Herbert zu Münster
Succeeded byPaul Wolff Metternich
State Secretary for Foreign Affairs
In office
16 July 1881 – 24 October 1885
MonarchWilhelm I
ChancellorOtto von Bismarck
Preceded byClemens Busch
Succeeded byHerbert von Bismarck
German Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
In office
12 July 1878 – 15 July 1881
MonarchWilhelm I
Preceded byPrince Heinrich VII Reuss of Köstritz
Succeeded byJoseph Maria von Radowitz
German Minister to Spain
In office
20 August 1874 – 12 July 1878
MonarchWilhelm I
Preceded byJulius von Canitz und Dallwitz
Succeeded byEberhard zu Solms-Sonnenwalde
Personal details
Born(1831-10-08)8 October 1831
Düsseldorf, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Died22 November 1901(1901-11-22) (aged 70)
London, United Kingdom
SpouseHelene Moulton
Children3
Parents
RelativesHermann von Hatzfeldt (cousin)
OccupationDiplomat

Early life

Hatzfeldt was born in Düsseldorf, Kingdom of Prussia, a part of the German Confederation, on 8 October 1831. A member of the House of Hatzfeld, he was the son of Sophie von Hatzfeldt (née Gräfin von Hatzfeldt-Schönstein zu Trachenberg) and Edmund Fürst von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg.

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").[1] He was Bismarck's secretary when he was Ambassador to Paris in 1862.

In 1874, he was appointed as German Minister to Spain in Madrid, followed by Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, before he was recalled in 1881 to become foreign secretary and head of the Foreign Office. In 1885, he succeeded Count 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.[2] He was succeeded by Count Paul Wolff Metternich.[2]

In his letter accepting Count von Hatzfeldt's request to retire, 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."[2]

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 (née Metz) Moulton.[3] They divorced in 1886, but were remarried two years later in order that their daughter might marry Prince Maximillian of Hohenlohe. Together, they were the parents of:[3]

  • Helene "Nelly" Susanne Pauline Hubertine Luise (3 March 1865, Paris – 21 May 1901, Berlin), who married Prince Max Anthon Karl von Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1860–1922), a son of Prince Hugo zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen and grandson of August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen.[3]
  • Paul "Hermann" Karl Hubert (30 July 1867, Paris – 12 June 1941, Crottorf), a diplomat who married Baroness Maria von Stumm (1882–1954).[4]
  • "Marie" Augusta Cesarinne Melanie (10 January 1871, Berlin – 15 April 1932, Paris), who married Prince Friedrich Karl von Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1855–1910), brother of her sister's husband.[3]

Count von Hatzfeldt died in London on 22 November 1901.[5] In 1910, his son inherited the title and properties of Paul's nephew, Prince Franz von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg.[6][lower-alpha 2]

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:[9]

German

Foreign

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

  1. Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany, it has formed part of family names since 1919.
  2. Prince Franz Edmund von Hatzfeldt zu Wildenburg (1853–1910)[7] was married to Clara Elizabeth Prentice, the adopted daughter of American financier Collis P. Huntington, in 1889.[8]

Sources

  1. Hermann von Eckardstein, Lebenserinnerungen u. Politische Denkwürdigkeiten (Leipzig: Verlag Paul List, 1919), 174.
  2. "GERMAN AMBASSADOR IN LONDON TO RETIRE.; Count von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg Will Be Succeeded by Count Wolff von Metternich". The New York Times. 13 November 1901. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  3. Diplomat, A. Veteran (12 March 1911). "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". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  4. Times, Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph To the New York (19 February 1911). "BETROTHED TO A PRINCE.; Fraulein von Stumm to Wed Prince Herman von Hatzfeldt". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  5. "COUNT VON HATZFELDT DEAD.; German Ambassador to Great Britain Expires in London -- His Resignation Announced a Few Days Ago". The New York Times. 23 November 1901. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  6. "Big Fortune for Count Hatzfeldt". The New York Times. 30 November 1910. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  7. "PRINCE HATZFELDT DEAD.; Was ex-Ambassador to England and Son-in-Law of Late C. P. Huntington". The New York Times. 5 November 1910. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (19 December 1928). "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". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  9. Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1901, p. 70
  10. "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 5 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. "Count Hatzfeldt". The Times. No. 36611. London. 13 November 1901. p. 5.
  12. "Königliche Orden", Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (in German), Munich: Druck and Verlag, 1890, pp. 30, 83, retrieved 3 March 2021
  13. Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. p. 145 – via hathitrust.org.
  14. Guía Oficial de España, 1883. p. 147.
  15. Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 607.
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