Karl Jürgen von Krieger

Karl Jürgen von Krieger (1 January 1831 - 1921), born as Karl Jürgen Krieger, was a prominent German politician, naval officer and industrialist. He joined the Partei für wirtschaftlichen und kolonialen Wohlstand und Entwicklung in 1855, a party which he would lead only 10 years later. Karl would continue to lead the party, even during his naval deployment as admiral in the Imperial Navy, until 1880, when he disbanded the PKW and founded the Freisinnige Vereinigung. In 1875, Karl J. Krieger inherited the von Hammerstein estate and noble titles after the Beatrix Scandal. In 1890, von Krieger would retire and the FV would merge with the Nationalliberale Partei.

Early life
Born an only child in Oldenburg to a family that was relatively rich, Krieger would spend the majority of his childhood at relative ease. He was educated, with many teachers noting his quick learning and fast thinking. He would also learn English. When he was 16 years of age however, tragedy came. Tuberculosis would strike his family, killing his mother and father, and leaving guardianship to his aunt and uncle in Aachen. His aunt and uncle would ship him out to learn at a university in England, where he studied naval engineering. After four years (having finished his education and inheriting his parents wealth), he would return to Oldenburg, soon to be member of the NGF, and apply to become an officer in the German Navy. He passed the officers exam and would impress his superiors, quickly promoting and rising through the ranks.

Professional life
Krieger was elected to the Reichstag at the youngest possible age of 24, and attended his first session in 1855. By that time he had already reached second in command of the Navy, being the youngest member of the general staff. By 1860 he was a prominent member of the PKW. Krieger began courting Anne von Hammerstein in 1857, whose father, Orlan von Hammerstein, was chancellor during that time.

Krieger along with his commanding officer Jan Staudenmaier in the I. Flotte left for the German Ivory Coast in 1858, after the navy was properly built up to allow for such an endeavor. He saw minor action blockading ports in the war against Warri in 1858, as well as in the Moroccan Barbary War of 1859 and 1860. Krieger was the one who brought the reports of Carl Helmke's desertion back to Germany, arriving in Hamburg in January of 1860. He had enough time in Hamburg to marry Anne, but was only able to stay with her for a few days before having to return to the war.

He was promoted to Kapitänsleutnant following the war with Morocco, and spent a few years stationed in German Nigeria, living on the naval base there with his wife. In November of 1861, Anne gave birth to their daughter, Emilie. A few months later, in 1862, the I. Flotte was stationed in Hamburg, where Karl and his family would live for the next 2 years. In 1864, Karl would participate in 2 more wars on the African continent, blockading ports in Zanzibar and Nigeria.

While in Germany on shore leave in Germany in 1865, he received a surprising new order. He was to remain in Germany, acting as the advisor for naval and colonial affairs to the Minister of War and the Kaiser. He quickly settled into life in Berlin, and within a few months his family had moved into their new home and he had organized his office in the government buildings. This would be followed by then PKW party leader, Wilhelm von Rotstein, retiring, leaving Karl to take up the mantle as party leader. He would help organize a coalition that spread from the conservatives to the socialists, and become Foreign Minister.

A year later in March of 1866, Karl would have a son, who would be named Otto II, named after Karl's father and Otto's grandfather. A year after that in 1867 Kaiser Wilhelm I died, and following some talk between Krieger and the new Kaiser, Friedrich III, the navy was refitted and expanded in Kiel beginning in 1870. That same year, there was a bit of a internal party scandal where one member of the PKW, Edmund von Schwarzenberg, established a club entitled the Eroberter Löwenkomitee, which was deemed an attempt to undermine party authority, and he was promptly kicked from the party. About a month later von Schwarzenberg was arrested for instigating an attack on an old women attempting to frame Herr von Donnersmarck, a factory owner who had ties to the PKW. Needless to say, von Schwarzenberg was tried and found guilty, as well as being found insane and put in an asylum. Karl worked to maintain the old coalition from 1865 and he along with the other party leaders reestablished that coalition following the 1870 elections. Due to this he continued his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In 1870, following a meeting with UK Prime Minister William Gladstone to discuss a deal surrounding British Egypt and the Suez Canal, Krieger was sacked by the Kaiser for signing off on a bad deal. Shortly thereafter, Karl Jürgen Krieger was appointed as Konteradmiral in the Imperial Navy. In 1875, following the Beatrix Scandal, Karl Jürgen Krieger inherited the von Hammerstein estate and noble titles through his wife, Anne von Hammerstein. Now having the title of von Krieger, he retired from the navy to chase capitalist ventures. Having inherited von Hammerstein's factories, von Krieger now owned a glass factory and machine parts factory in Silesia and a cement factory in Westfalen.

In 1880, Karl Jürgen von Krieger dissolved to PKW to found the Freisinnige Vereinigung and turn away from the single-issue party that the PKW had become. In 1882, Karl founded K&S Unternehmen with Felix Staudenmaier. Together they build their first factory that same year, a synthetic dye factory in Saxony. In 1890, right before Karl's retirement, he founded Volksphantasie with Elinor Elouise von Märchenlied. Also just before his retirement, Karl made a deal with Ernst Krüger, leader of the NLP, to fold the FV into the NLP on the condition that the NLP made an effort to shift more towards social liberalism.

Later life
Following his retirement, Karl returned to live in his estate in Oldenburg. Often he was seen walking through the city, sometimes with his wife Anne, and he strived to maintain good health into his elder years.

He remained mostly quiet on politics for much of his retirement, though this was broken in 1896 when he published his autobiography. The autobiography served not only as a recount of his life up until that point, but also a reflection upon the present day, and predictions into the future. He reflected upon his time in government, how the political landscape had changed over the years, including his disappointed in the reichstag at that time. He reflected upon his role in the rearrangement and advancement of the German Navy, how it became the most fearsome force at sea, and how it may continue to grow into the future. He wrote on the Beatrix scandal, how it thrust him into the world of business, his successes and failures as a businessman, and explained his shift from a commoner to a noble. He described his personal life, with his daughter having become famous as a leader of the woman's rights movement by that time, as well as the pain of losing his son the year before.

Unknown to all but a few, Karl had kept a diary from starting his life in the UK in 1847 at age 16, all the way until his death. It was passed on to his daughter, Emilie, following his death in 1921, and she spent much of her life organizing it to be published. Following the completion of the second world war, at the age of 84 she published "A Comprehensive Biography of Karl Jürgen von Krieger", using her personal knowledge of her father, what was written in his autobiography, and mostly the diary as resources. This biography proved a much greater source of information on Karl's life. Revealed was his hatred for Ernst Krüger, claiming Krüger was the single greatest roadblock on his path to the chancellorship, that he was deceitful, a liar, power hungry, and failed to follow through with the deal made in 1890. His disdain for reactionaries, while known, was expanded upon, as was his disdain for Kaiser Friedrich III, though to what extent was not revealed out of respect for the still-established monarchy.

On the morning of April 14th, 1921, at the age of 90, Karl Jürgen von Krieger had a sudden heart attack while walking through the streets of Oldenburg. Being in a public area, he was quickly rushed to the nearest hospital, but after a short period was declared dead. His wife had died 5 years prior.

Political views
Krieger believes in Pan-Germanism, hoping to one day see all Germans United under one nation, and he also hopes for the German people to assert themselves throughout the world, with a powerful navy and several colonies.