Otto von bismarck biography brevena

A master strategist, Bismarck initiated decisive wars with Denmark, Austria and France to unite 39 independent German states under Prussian leadership. Although an arch-conservative, Bismarck introduced progressive reforms—including universal male suffrage and the establishment of the first welfare state—in order to achieve his goals. He manipulated European rivalries to make Germany a world power, but in doing so laid the groundwork for both World Wars.

His father was a fifth-generation Junker a Prussian landowning noble , and his mother came from a family of successful academics and government ministers.

Otto von bismarck biography brevena: He became known as the Iron

Throughout his life Bismarck would emphasize his rural Junker roots, underplaying his considerable intellect and cosmopolitan outlook. Did you know? Although German leader Otto von Bismarck wore a general's uniform in public for much of his later life and successfully prosecuted three wars as chancellor , his only prior military service was a brief, unwilling stint in a reserve unit.

In he married and was sent to Berlin as a delegate to the new Prussian parliament, where he emerged as a reactionary voice against the liberal, anti-autocratic Revolutions of From to Bismarck served a series of ambassadorships—at the German Confederation in Frankfurt, in St. Though technically deferring to William, in reality Bismarck was in charge, manipulating the king with his intellect and the occasional tantrum while using royal decrees to circumvent the power of elected officials.

In Bismarck began the series of wars that would establish Prussian power in Europe.