Carl von Bismarck

Carl-Eduard
Von Bismarck in 2017
Prince of Bismarck
Tenure	23 July 2019 – present
Predecessor	Ferdinand von Bismarck
Born	Carl-Eduard Otto Wolfgang Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen 16 February 1961 Zurich, Switzerland
Spouse	Laura Harring ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1989)​ Celia Demaurex ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2004)​ Nathalie Bariman ​ ​ (m. 2004; div. 2014)​ [1][2] Alessandra Silvestri-Levy ​ ​ (m. 2016)​ [3]
Issue	Count Alexei von Bismarck-Schönhausen Countess Grace von Bismarck-Schönhausen
House	Bismarck
Father	Ferdinand, Prince von Bismarck
Mother	Countess Elisabeth Lippens

Carl-Eduard, Prince of Bismarck (Carl-Eduard Otto Wolfgang; born 16 February 1961),^[4] often known as Carl von Bismarck, is a German politician. A member of the Christian Democratic Union, he sat in the Bundestag from 2005 to 2007.

Background and education

Born on 16 February 1961 in Zürich, Switzerland, as Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Carl von Bismarck is a member of the princely House of Bismarck and the son of the lawyer and landowner Ferdinand von Bismarck and the Belgian Countess Elisabeth Lippens.^[5] He is the great-great-grandson of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck.^{[citation needed]}

After receiving his Abitur in 1982, von Bismarck completed his two years of military service at the Bismarck-Kaserne [de] in Wentorf, West Germany.^[6]

In 1985, von Bismarck concluded his training in capital markets investing at Citibank and worked for Shearson Lehman in New York.^{[citation needed]} In 1988 he received his bachelor's degree in international business from UCLA.

Career

Business

In 1989, von Bismarck was requested by his father to return to West Germany.^{[citation needed]} Between 1989 and 1992, he worked for the company Investor Treuhand in Düsseldorf. Since 1993 he worked for the Princely Bismarck Administration (Fürstlich von Bismarck'schen Verwaltung) in Friedrichsruh.^[7]

Politics

Bismarck became a member of the CDU in 1995, and was elected vice-chairman of the CDU in Lauenburg in 1999 (his ancestor, Otto von Bismarck, had been the nominal Duke of Lauenburg in the 1890s). When Peter Harry Carstensen became Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Bismarck replaced him in the Bundestag, the German parliament. In the 2005 federal election, he won his constituency with a plurality (44.4%) of the vote.

Personal life

Von Bismarck was previously married to Mexican-American actress Laura Harring (1987–1989), Swiss heiress and humanitarian Celia Demaurex (1997–2004), and Canadian designer Nathalie Bariman (2004–2014).^[8] He married Brazilian art writer and curator Alessandra Silvestri-Levy in 2016.^[9]

Von Bismarck has two children with Nathalie Bariman: a son and heir apparent to the princely title, Count Alexei von Bismarck-Schönhausen, and a daughter, Countess Grace von Bismarck-Schönhausen. Bariman is Jewish, and they married in a Jewish ceremony.^[8][10][11] German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reported to have told the couple, "You two have united history... the next Prince of Bismarck will be a mix of both religions."^[8]

See also

• Gottfried von Bismarck (brother)
• Mona von Bismarck
• House of Bismarck

References

1. "New York Post: German nobleman sued in NY court for $2.5M in unpaid child support". 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
2. Pancevski, Bojan (2013-12-13). "Bad blood sinks the Bismarcks". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
3. "Heimliche Hochzeit" [Secret marriage] (in German). Gala. June 18, 2016.
4. Deutscher Bundestag, Carl-Eduard von Bismarck, CDU/CSU (in German). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
5. "Family tree of Elisabeth Philippine Robert Clémentine Ghislaine Lippens".
6. "Bismarck, Carl-Eduard von". webarchiv.bundestag.de. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
7. "Bismarck, Carl-Eduard von".
8. "German aristocrat sued by Canadian-born wife for $3.4M in child support". nationalpost. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
9. "Heimliche Hochzeit". Gala (in German). 18 June 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
10. "Bismarck heir sued in New York for $2.5m in child support". The Telegraph. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
11. Bismarck, Nathalie von (2011). Invisible. A & G. ISBN 9780615411941. Nathalie gave birth to 2 children, future heir Alexei von Bismarck and Countess Grace von Bismarck

German nobility
Preceded by Ferdinand von Bismarck	Prince of Bismarck 2019 – present	Incumbent Heir: Alexei, Count of Bismarck