From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprera de
Montecuccoli (English: Count George Leo of
Caprivi, Caprera, and Montecuccoli, born Georg Leo
von Caprivi; 24 February 1831 – 6 February 1899) was
a German major general and statesman, who succeeded Otto von
Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany. Caprivi served as
German Chancellor from March 1890 to October 1894.
Biography
Born in Charlottenburg at Berlin to a family of
Italian and Slovenian origin. His family original
surname is Kopriva and they originated from Koprivnik, Kočevski Rog, Slovenia. Caprivi entered the
army in 1849 and served in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 and the
Franco-Prussian War in 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 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 18, Caprivi became
chancellor. Ironically he had said beforehand, "What jackass would
dare to succeed Bismarck?"
Caprivi's administration was marked by what is known to
historians as the "New Course"[1] 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. The
treaty also gave Germany the Caprivi Strip, which was added to German South West Africa, thus linking that
territory with the Zambezi River, which he had hoped to use
for trade and communications with eastern Africa (the river proved
to be unnavigable).
In 1892, following a legislative defeat on an educational bill,
Caprivi resigned as Prussian
Minister-President and was 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 von
Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.
Notes
Regarding personal names: Graf is a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle
name. The female form is Gräfin.
External
links
| The Caprivi Cabinet – 20 March 1890 to 20
October 1894 |
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