Paul von Hatzfeldt

Paul von Hatzfeld zu Trachenberg
1885, Holzstich

Melchior Hubert Paul Gustav Graf von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg (8 October 1831 – 22 November 1901) was a German diplomat who served as ambassador to Constantinople in 1878-1881, as foreign secretary and head of the Foreign Office in 1881-1885, and as ambassador to London in 1885-1901, during which time he is best known for signing the Yantze Agreement in 1900. He was once described by Otto von Bismarck as "das beste Pferd im diplomatischen Stall" – the best horse in the diplomatic stable.

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

Honours

• Kingdom of Prussia : Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown - 8 November 1901 - on his resignation as German Ambassador to London

Literature

• 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.