appointed attache to the German embassy in Paris, and after
returning for a while to the foreign office at Berlin, became second
secretary to the embassy in Paris in 1880. From 1884 he was first secretary
to the embassy at St Petersburg, and acted as _charge d'affaires_; in 1888
he was appointed envoy at Bucharest, and in 1893 to the post of German
ambassador at Rome. In 1897, on the retirement of Baron Marshall von
Bieberstein, he was appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs (the
same office which his father had held) under Prince Hohenlohe, with a seat
in the Prussian ministry. The appointment caused much surprise at the time,
as Buelow was little known outside diplomatic circles. The explanations
suggested were that he had made himself very popular at Rome and that his
appointment was therefore calculated to strengthen the loosening bonds of
the Triple Alliance, and also that his early close association with
Bismarck would ensure the maintenance of the Bismarckian tradition. As
foreign secretary Herr von Buelow was chiefly responsible for carrying out
the policy of colonial expansion with which the emperor had identified
himself, and in 1899, on bringing to a successful conclusion the
negotiations by which the Caroline Islands were acquired by Germany, he was
raised to the rank of count. On the resignation of Hohenlohe in 1900 he was
chosen to succeed him as chancellor of the empire and president of the
Prussian ministry.

The _Berliner Neueste Nachrichten_, commenting on this appointment, very
aptly characterized the relations of the new chancellor to the emperor, in
contrast to the position occupied by Bismarck. "The Germany of William
II.," it said, "does not admit a Titan in the position of the highest
official of the Empire. A cautious and versatile diplomatist like Bernhard
von Buelow appears to be best adapted to the personal and political
necessities of the present situation." Count Buelow, indeed, though, like
Bismarck, a "realist," utilitarian and opportunist in his policy, made no
effort to emulate the masterful independence of the great chancellor. He
was accused, indeed, of being little more than the complacent executor of
the emperor's will, and defended himself in the Reichstag against the
charge. The substance of the relations between the emperor and himself, he
declared, rested on mutual good-will, and added: "I must lay it down most
emphatically that the prerogative of the emperor's personal