Albrecht von Bernstorff

Memorial for Albrecht von Bernstorff in the St. Abundus church in Lassahn

Albrecht Graf von Bernstorff (22 March 1809 – 26 March 1873) was a Prussian statesman.

Early life Bernstorff was born at the estate Dreilützow (now in the municipality of Wittendörp), in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He was a son of Friedrich Graf von Bernstorff and Freiin Ferdinandine von Hammerstein Equord.

Prussian foreign minister

In October 1861, Bernstorff left London to become the Prussian Foreign Minister under the Prime Minister Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern. (He had previously been offered the position of Foreign Minister in 1848 and 1850 by King Frederick William IV without taking it up.) He thus replaced a rather passive Count Alexander von Schleinitz (an Old Liberal) and, in the Cabinet, reinforced the more conservative grouping around August von der Heydt and Albrecht von Roon.

He would introduce several new policies and strategies. During this period, ideas were being discussed for the reform of the German Confederation. Bernstorff revived a project from 1849 to form a narrow Prusso-German Bundestaat in order to ward off such initiatives by Austria, and argued for a "Lesser German" union under Prussian leadership and excluding Austria; these plans were not pursued for the time being, however, as they were undermined by mistrust of political elements.

Bernstorff also negotiated military conventions with various northern German states, concluded a free-trade agreement with France as part of changes to the Zollverein policy to isolate protectionist Austria, and swiftly recognized the new Kingdom of Italy as a state in hopes that it would help collaborate against Austria. This last move meant a clear rejection of a Zollunion with Austria.

At the beginning of the Prussian constitutional crisis of 1859-1866, Wilhelm I and his government faced the choice of continuing to govern without a constitutional budget. Von der Heydt, Bernstorff and the minister for trade, Heinrich Wilhelm von Holtzbrinck, rejected this as a violation of the constitution, and resigned. Other ministers, however, were prepared to continue in office. In this situation, the minister for war, von Roon, pushed through the appointment of Otto von Bismarck both as foreign minister and prime minister. Thus, in 1862 Bernstorff was replaced in his post; he would thereafter criticise Bismarck as having Machiavellian policies.

Later career He was later reassigned to his position as Prussian ambassador in London, and, after 1871, as German Imperial ambassador with the rank of minister of state, which he remained until his death in 1873. In 1867, he was also the ambassador of the North German Confederation at the negotiations for the Treaty of London, which determined the status of Luxembourg.

Personal life In 1839, while in Paris, he married Anna von Könneritz (born 23 May 1821 in Dresden), the daughter of the Saxonian ambassador at the French court, Hans Heinrich von Könneritz (1790–1863). Together, they were the parents of:

Andreas Albrecht von Bernstorff (1844–1907), who married Augusta von Hottinger, a daughter of Heinrich von Hottinger. Marie Therese von Bernstorff (b. 1848) Victoria Anna von Bernstorff (b. 1857)

Albrecht von Bernstorff died on 26 March 1873. Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, with Collar Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown Persian Empire: Order of the Lion and the Sun, 1st Class Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ Knight of the Order of Saint Januarius