Leo von Caprivi
Count Leo von Caprivi | |
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| In office 1890–1894 | |
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| Political party | None |
Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprara de Montecuccoli (en: Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli) (February 24, 1831 – February 6, 1899) was a German major general and statesman, who succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany, serving between March 1890 and October 1894. He was Germany's first chancellor of Slovenian birth.
Caprivi entered the army in 1849, and served in the wars of 1866 and 1870, the latter as a corps Chief of Staff. From 1883 to 1888 he served as Chief of the Imperial Admiralty, a position in which he showed significant administrative talent. He was briefly appointed to the command of the Tenth Army Corps (stationed in Hanover), before being summoned to Berlin by Wilhelm II in February of 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 March 18th 1890, Caprivi became chancellor.
Caprivi's administration was marked by what is known to historians as the "New Course" 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 Zanzibar treaty 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 in Germany, while Caprivi's free trading policies led to opposition from conservative agrarian protectionists. He also managed to obtain the Caprivi Strip, which was added to German South West Africa, thus linking that territory with the Zambezi River.
In 1892, following a legislative defeat on an educational bill, Caprivi resigned as Prussian Minister-President and 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 of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.
Notes
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.