Franz von Roggenbach

Franz von Roggenbach (23 March 1825 - 25 May 1907) was a leading Baden politician. During the 1860s he served, by some definitions, as the final Foreign minister of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

Life Provenance, early years and 1848 Franz Freiherr von Roggenbach was born in Mannheim. He came from an ancient family of Catholic nobility. His father, Baron Heinrich von Roggenbach (1787–1870), was a career soldier. His mother, the Countess Melanie von Walderdorff (1795-1868), also came from a prominent ancient family. In 1863, following the retirement of Gideon Weizel, the trade-commerce portfolio was added to Roggenbach's portfolio of ministerial responsibilities. The resignation was attributed to "constitutional differences".

Between 1868 and 1870, he sat as a member of the Zollparlament, which represented the German states that were members of the newly reconstituted customs union ("Zollverein"). He sat as one of the many members of the National Liberal group. The voting districts were larger than for the "Badische Ständeversammlung", but he represented, as before, an electoral district in the extreme southwest of the country, incorporating now the towns of Lörrach, Müllheim and Staufen. Roggenbach never made any serious effort to conceal his loathing for Bismarck, and the German chancellor viewed Roggenbach, understandably, as a constant focus for liberal intrigue among well-placed members of the political establishment and royal households. An early decision involved appointing Friedrich Heinrich Geffcken, widely seen as a political victim of the chancellor's vindictive character, to a professorship of constitutional studies and public law. The German University at Strasbourg was inaugurated on 1/2 May 1872 and Roggenbach's role as project "curator" was at an end. His ambitious plans were soon scaled back by the government following disputes about funding, but sources indicate that there was nevertheless much reason to celebrate his contribution to the project.

Personal Franz von Roggenbach died as a result of Pneumonia on 24 May 1907. He continued to correspond with friends throughout the later decades of his life, and there is some sense of regret towards the end that he had not been able to influence events more strongly in support of the traditional liberalist positions that he favoured.