Alfred von Tirpitz

From Kaiserreich

Alfred von Tirpitz (Küstrin, Prussia March, 19 1849-Berlin, Germany March, 6 1930) was a German admiral and statesman. As a Secretary of State of the Imperial Naval Office from 1897 to 1924, von Tirpitz was instrumental in the development of the Kaiserliche Marine as a major naval force in the world. His tenure from 1924 to 1930 as the eighth Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire is considered by most historians as the Golden Age of the post-Weltkrieg Germany and its development as the first major power in the world and in its colonial expansion. During his mandate was created the Mitteleuropa system and happened the 1925 German intervention of China and the creation of the Freistadt Mittelafrika.

He joined the Prussian Navy in 1865 and attended Kiel Naval School, gaining his commission in 1869. Upon the creation of the German fleet in 1871 he was part of a torpedo squadron. In 1877 he rose to become the head of the torpedo-arm which he re-organised into the torpedo inspectorate.

Captain Tirpitz became Chief of the Naval staff in 1892 and was made a Rear Admiral in 1895. In 1896-97 he commanded the Asian cruiser squadron and oversaw the gain of Kiaochow as a German naval base. In 1897 he was made Secretary of State of the Reichsmarineamt - the Imperial Naval Office. An energetic campaigner for a greatly enlarged fleet, he attracted the attention and support of the Kaiser. Tirpitz was ennobled to von Tirpitz in 1900.