Otto von Bismarck

Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) was a Prussian statesman who led the unification of Germany and served as the first Chancellor of the German Empire from 1871 to 1890. A landowner from an old Junker family, he entered politics in 1847 and served as a diplomat in Frankfurt, St. Petersburg and Paris before King Wilhelm I appointed him Minister President of Prussia in 1862, the turning point of his career. Through skilled diplomacy and three short wars he brought the German states together, and the German Empire was proclaimed at Versailles in January 1871. As chancellor he sought to preserve peace in Europe through a system of alliances and hosted the Congress of Berlin in 1878. He also introduced health insurance, accident insurance and old-age pensions, laying foundations for the modern welfare state. Known as "the Iron Chancellor," he was one of the most influential statesmen of the 19th century.