Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau
(29.5.1869 - 8.9.1928)
place of birth:  Stadt Schleswig  (Schleswig-Holstein)

German count and professional diplomat who served in Belgium, Russia, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary. He was German Ambassador to Denmark from  1912-18. Brockdorff-Rantzau replaced Wilhelm Solf at Germany's Foreign Office in December 1918, becoming the Weimar Republic's first foreign minister. Although from an old aristocratic family, he was a strong proponent of democracy. From 1922-28 he served as Germany's ambassador in Moscow, where he was highly respected.