German admiral and diplomatist, born at Schwedt-on-the-Oder on the 13th of February 1864. He entered the navy and was from 1903–06 naval attaché for the Scandinavian states with his headquarters in St. Petersburg. He was supposed to have won the confidence of the Tsar Nicholas II. and was appointed in 1908 military plenipotentiary at the Russian Court. There is evidence, however, that the Tsar had become suspicious of his activities, and that he had, perhaps through his agents, been somewhat too observant in the interests of Germany. His adventures as a diplomatist during the World War awakened popular interest. He was recalled from his post in Mexico at the end of 1914 in order to be sent to Pekin, a journey which he managed to effect in spite of the vigilance of the naval forces of the Allied Powers. Transferred to Christiania in 1915 he again succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the Allies and in reaching his new post. From July 9 to October 3, 1918, he was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in succession to Kühlmann and was privy to the exchange of views between the Higher Command and the Chancellor in August and again at the end of September which led to the German demand for an armistice. Tirpitz, who entertained a high opinion of him, expressed in his book Erinnerungen (1919) the opinion that war with Russia might have been averted in 1914 if the Emperor had sent Hintze on a special mission to the Tsar.
