Emil Karl Heinrich von Richthofen, was a Prussian baron (freiherr) and diplomat. He was the son of Ludwig Philipp Heinrich, Freiherr von Richthofen (1770–1850).
Occupation
diplomat, politician
Position held
ambassador of Germany to Sweden, Envoy of the German Empire to Sweden
Born
July 11, 1810
Died
June 20, 1895
Overview
Emil Karl Heinrich von Richthofen (11 July 1810 – 20 June 1895, at Baden-Baden), was a Prussian baron (freiherr) and diplomat. He was the son of Ludwig Philipp Heinrich, Freiherr von Richthofen (1770–1850).
In 1833, he married Marie Augustin in Potsdam. After joining the Prussian diplomatic service, his first posting was in 1846 as the Prussian Consul General in Jassy (Iași), capital of the semi-independent principality of Moldavia. His son Oswald von Richthofen, the future Imperial German foreign minister, was born in Jassy in 1847.
From 1851 to 1856 he was the Prussian Minister (envoy) to Mexico, later publishing the works Die politischen Zustände der Republik Mexiko (The political conditions of the Republic of Mexico) in 1859 and Die mexikanische Frage in 1862. In July 1855 he secured a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation between Mexico and Prussia (and the other states of the Zollverein).
Despite being neutral in the Crimean War, Prussia participated in the Congress of Paris (1856) which brought that conflict to an end. One of its provisions was the re-organisation of the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, under the supervision of the European great powers. Emil von Richthofen was appointed the Prussian representative on the commission established for this purpose.
