Heinrich Leonhard von Tschirschky und Bögendorff (15 July 1858 – 15 November 1916) was a German diplomat and politician, who served as Foreign Secretary

Foreign Minister of Germany

The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs is the head of the Federal Foreign Office and a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The current office holder is Guido Westerwelle...

 and head of the Foreign Office

Foreign Office (Germany)

The Foreign Office is the foreign ministry of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign politics and its relationship with the European Union. From 1871 to 1919, it was led by a Foreign Secretary, and since 1919, it has been led by the Foreign Minister of Germany...

 from 24 January 1906 to 25 October 1907.

Early career

Born in Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, he was the son of Otto von Tschirschky und Bögendorff, the Director-General of the Royal Saxon State Railways

Royal Saxon State Railways

The Royal Saxon State Railways were the state-owned railways operating in the Kingdom of Saxony from 1869 to 1918...

, and a member of the Tschirschky noble family. He joined the German foreign service in 1883, and served from 1885 to 1886 as personal secretary to Herbert von Bismarck

Herbert von Bismarck

Herbert, Prince of Bismarck was a German politician, who served as Foreign Secretary from 1886 to 1890. His political career was closely tied to that of his father, Otto von Bismarck, and he left office a few days after his father's dismissal...

. He was subsequently stationed in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Berne

Berne

The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...

, Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 and St. Petersburg, before he became Minister Resident in Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 in 1900, Prussian Envoy to Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...

 and the Hanse city-states in 1902. He also accompanied Emperor William on travels as a representative of the Foreign Office.

Foreign Secretary

On 17 January 1906, he was appointed Secretary of State, succeeding the late Oswald von Richthofen

Oswald von Richthofen

Oswald Freiherr von Richthofen, GCVO was a German diplomat and politician, who served as Foreign Secretary and head of the Foreign Office from 23 October 1900 to 17 January 1906.-Background and career:...

. He served until 7 October 1907, when he was succeeded by Wilhelm von Schoen

Wilhelm von Schoen

Wilhelm Eduard Freiherr von Schoen was a German diplomat. He was especially known as German ambassador in Paris at the beginning of World War I and as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire....

.

Ambassador in Vienna

After his term as Foreign Secretary, he was appointed Ambassador to Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, and served until his death there in 1916.