Paul von Hatzfeldt

Melchior Hubert Paul Gustav Graf von Hatzfeldt zu Wildenburg (8 October 1831 – 22 November 1901) was a German diplomat who served as envoy to Spain and Ottoman Empire, foreign secretary and head of the Foreign Office. He also as ambassador to United Kingdom in 1885 to 1901. He is best known for signing the Yangtze Agreement in 1900 and was once described by Otto von Bismarck as das beste Pferd im diplomatischen Stall ("the best horse in the diplomatic stable").[1]

Paul von Hatzfeldt
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
In office 16 July 1881 – 24 October 1885
Monarch	Wilhelm I
Chancellor	Otto von Bismarck
Preceded by	Clemens Busch
Succeeded by	Herbert von Bismarck
Personal details
Born	8 October 1831 Düsseldorf, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Died	22 November 1901 (aged 70) London, United Kingdom
Spouse(s)	Helene Moulton
Children	Helene (Nelly) Paul Marie
Mother	Sophie von Hatzfeldt
Father	Edmund Fürst von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg
Occupation	Diplomat

A member of the House of Hatzfeld, he was born in Düsseldorf, the son of Sophie von Hatzfeldt, and he died in London.

Honours

•  Kingdom of Prussia:
  • Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle - 18 June 1890
  • Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown - 8 November 1901 - on his resignation as German Ambassador to London[2]
•  Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III - 28 May 1877[3]
•  Kingdom of Serbia: Order of the Cross of Takovo[4]

Sources

• Hermann von Eckardstein. Lebenserinnerungen u. Politische Denkwürdigkeiten. Leipzig: Verlag Paul List, 1919.
• Vera Niehus: Ein »ambassadeur idéal«, jedoch »den Anstrengungen des ministeriellen Dienstes nicht gewachsen«: Paul von Hatzfeldt als außenpolitischer Mitarbeiter Bismarcks. In: Lothar Gall, Ulrich Lappenküper (Hrsg.): Bismarcks Mitarbeiter. Schöningh, Paderborn 2009, ISBN 978-3-506-76591-8.
• Franz-Eugen Volz: Paul Graf von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg. In: Lebensbilder aus dem Kreis Altenkirchen. Altenkirchen, 1975.

References

1. Hermann von Eckardstein, Lebenserinnerungen u. Politische Denkwürdigkeiten (Leipzig: Verlag Paul List, 1919), 174.
2. "Count Hatzfeldt". The Times (36611). London. 13 November 1901. p. 5.
3. Guía Oficial de España, 1883. p. 147.
4. Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 607.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Works by or about Paul von Hatzfeldt at Internet Archive