Ernst von Hammerstein-Loxten

Ernst Georg, Freiherr von Hammerstein-Loxten (2 October 1827 – 5 June 1914) was a German lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hanover. After Hanover's annexation by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866, he was Prussian Minister of Agriculture from 1894 to 1901.

Early life Hammerstein was born on 2 October 1827 at Loxten im Artland in the Osnabrück district into the older branch of the Loxten line of the von Hammerstein family.

In 1884, Hammerstein-Loxten became Landrat (district administrator) of the Bersenbrück district and, in 1889, Landesdirektor (provincial director) of the province of Hanover. In 1891, he was involved in Emperor Wilhelm II's attempts at reconciliation with the Guelphs. Hammerstein replaced DKP-affiliated Wilhelm von Heyden-Cadow on 9 November 1894, as the Prussian Minister of Agriculture in the cabinet of Prime Minister and Imperial Chancellor Prince Chlodwig of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. While in office, he was considered one of the leading protagonists of agrarian protectionism and his term saw the introduction of compulsory meat inspection. He remained in his role when Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst was replaced as Prime Minister of Prussia by Bernhard von Bülow and his cabinet. Construction on the canal eventually began in 1906.

Personal life

In 1868, Hammerstein married Agnes von Lorch (1842–1938) in Ariendorf on the Rhine.

Gertrud Agnes Bertha Dorothea Charlotte von Hammerstein-Loxten (b. 1869), who married Baron , district administrator of the Ekhartsberga district, in 1899.

Descendants Through his daughter Gertrud, he was a grandfather of Baron (1906–2002), who married Marie Luise von Hammerstein (the eldest child of Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord) in .

Legacy The 1882 apple variety was named after him.