tto von Bismarck – a true political leader ABSTRACT Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian diplomat and statesman, and one of the most inspirational political leaders in the 20th century. This paper tries to elaborate his successful political life portraying him as a great political figure. The research goes into his life showing him and his success in a light of a career as a statesman and diplomat. The aim of the paper is, by using relevant literature, to analyze the personal characteristics and political decisions that led to successfulness of his career. While going deeper into the topic, the goal is to bring the reader the realistic perception of one of the most influential leaders that Europe has witnessed. Although there have been both positive and negative aspects of his life, the positive spectrum had definitely prevailed because of his true devotion for a unified and prosperous …show more content…
His career can be divided into two parts: Bismarck as statesman and Bismarck as a diplomat. He started his career as a diplomat. As the Prussian ambassador he was sent to Russia in 1859. Three years after that, he moved to Paris as an ambassador. He gained 11 years of experience in foreign affairs before he became Prime Minister and minister of foreign affairs of Prussia. According to Emil Ludwig (1927) he had come to be known as the architects of French, Russian and Austrian foreign policy. The common thing of all analysts and historians is that Bismarck was more successful as a statesman than ambassador. According to Steinberg (2013) Bismarck knew it well how to create suitable opportunities and he was also quick to utilise them at the time of need. Some events and decions in which he was involved showing his diplomatic insight, wisdom; he paid great attention to his aims, objectives and ideals. He left no stone unturned to achieve his