Leadership

[[image:http://www.happinessonline.org/images/bismark2.jpg width="308" height="413"]]Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck in in Brandenburg state on April 1, 1815. His mother, Wilhelmina Mencken, was from a wealthy family. His father, Ferdinand von Bismarck, was a Brandenburg squire. Age seven, Otto attended Plamann's Institute, and in 1832 he arrived at the University of Goettingen and 2 years later he transfered to the University of Berlin. He did not succeed in the military career, but his mother encouraged him to join civil service. In 1839, Otto was shakened by his mother's death, which then was followed by family financial problems. He became lord of Schoenhausen estate, and in 1847, he married Johanna von Puttkamer. Also in 1847, was assigned legislature for Prussian domains and displayed his conservative side when he punished the liberals and democrats that protested monarch powers. In 1848, he threatened to destroy the German Confederation. Otto became prime minister of Prussia and foreign affairs. He bgan his domination of Prussian politics, he illegally collected taxes and spent large amounts of money to make the army bigger. Bismarck's main goal was to end the German Confederation and build a Prussian empire state from Austria.

megan