German Foreign Secretary at the outbreak of the World War, born on the 2nd of June 1863 in Berlin. He entered the diplomatic service in 1895 and after having been Prussian minister at Munich, German ambassador at Rome, and German minister at The Hague, was appointed in 1913 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He played an active part in the negotiations preceding the outbreak of the World War and was, in particular, concerned in the German relations with Austria, having been the first member of the Imperial Government in Berlin to become acquainted with the terms of the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia. Jagow retired in November 1916. He wrote a defence of German policy entitled Ursachen und Ausbruch des Weltkrieges (1919).
