Count George Leo of Caprivi, Caprara, and Montecuccoli

Caprivi was born on February 24, 1831 in Berlin-Charlottenburg and died on February 6, 1899 in Skyren, Brandenburg.

Leo von Caprivi was a German major general and statesman, who succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Germany`s Imperial Chancellor, serving between 1890
- 1894.
Caprivi entered the army and served in the wars of 1866 and 1870 as Infantry General and Corps Chief of Staff. From 1883 to 1888 he served as Head of the Imperial Admiralty, a position in which he showed
significant administrative talent. After Bismarck´s dismissal from office in 1890, Caprivi was summoned to Berlin by Wilhelm II and appointed Chancellor and Prussian minister president (1890 - 1892).
Caprivi was given his title (Count) in 1891.
Caprivi's administration took on a new course in both foreign and domestic policy, which was marked by the reconciliation of the Social Democrats on the domestic front, and a pro-British foreign policy. This is exemplified by the Zanzibar treaty, in which the British ceded the island of Helgoland to Germany and the Caprivi Strip (a small, 400 kilometer finger-like piece of land in the most northeastern part of Namibia) in exchange for control of Zanzibar and parts of Botswana.
Through these foreign policies, Caprivi provoked the animosity of the colonialist pressure-groups in Germany, while his free trading policies led to opposition from conservative agrarian protectionists.