Felix Staudenmaier

Felix Staudenmaier (1842-1900) was a German politician and capitalist and the son of famous German admiral Jan Staudenmaier. During his lifetime, Felix was a member of the Deutsche Zentrumpartei (1880-1885), the Deutschkonservative Partei (1885-1900), the Deutschnationale Volkspartei (1900) and the Christlich Soziale Partei (1900).

Biography
Despite being the only son of the famous Jan Staudenmaier, Felix never got along well with his father who set unrealistic expectations for him and was very controlling over him. At the age of 16, Felix made a choice that was entirely his own when he ran away with a Polish girl he had fallen in love with. The time they spent in each other’s company was some of the best he ever had despite their impoverished state as he was finally free from the influence of his overbearing father. During this time, Felix converted to Catholicism due to a mix of both the influence of his Polish lover and personal desire to distance himself from his Lutheran father. This joyous time was not to last however as Felix’s lover later died from cholera. Having lost his primary motivation to continue living in squalor, Felix begrudgingly returned to his home in Danzig. Unfortunately for him, his father had just gotten off of campaign in Morocco and came home to his wife and a son he had not seen in two years. Despite his father’s beratement, Felix remained in Danzig and attempted to make a name for himself by starting a local business. A business that was later bought out by his father and propelled him to take charge of his finances. Seemingly unable to escape his father Felix languished under his oversight, never stepping out of line and keeping his conversion to Catholicism a close secret. When his father fell ill, Felix was ecstatic. All he had to do was wait before the bane of his existence was gone forever. When Jan finally passed in 1875, all his earthly possessions were given to his wife Alicia, as per his will. However, with the man who so poorly treated their son now gone and their seven daughters happily married, Alicia saw fit to transfer these assets to Felix, including Staudenmaier's steamer factory in East Friesland and his cement factory in the Easter Rhineland.

In 1880, Felix joined politics as a member of the Deutsche Zentrumpartei. That same year, he was elected into the Reichstag after the 1880 elections. His political aspirations brought him into contact with Karl Jürgen von Krieger, who he joined in 1892 to form a company named K&S Unternehmen. The new company would quickly include most of Staudenmaier's factories and assets. In 1885, Felix switched to the Deutschkonservative Partei. That same year, he was appointed as Governor of German Shanghai. In Shanghai, Felix founded the Deutsch Ostasiatische Bank. In 1897, he was called back to Germany to replace Martin von Labiau, who became Minister of War in 1897, as Minister of the Treasury. In 1900, Felix followed his fellow conservatives into the newly founded Deutschnationale Volkspartei, but quickly became disillusioned with the reformed party. As a result, he switched to the Christlich Soziale Partei later that year. By the end of 1900, he suffered a severe head injury resulting from a falling accident at the Ministry of the Treasury and passed away.