Generalinspekteur der Marine
Encyclopedia
The Generalinspekteur der Marine (Inspector-General of the Navy) was a position in the government of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

. It was founded in 1871 as the command authority of the German Imperial Admiralty
German Imperial Admiralty
The German Imperial Admiralty was an imperial authority in the German Empire. By order of Kaiser Wilhelm I the Northern German Federal Navy Department of the North German Confederation , which had been formed from the Prussian Navy Department , became on 1 January 1872 the German Imperial Admiralty...

 and lasted intermittently to 1919.

The first Inspector General was Admiral Prinz Adalbert of Prussia
Adalbert of Prussia
Prince Adalbert of Prussia was a son of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg. He was a naval theorist and admiral. He was instrumental during the Revolutions of 1848 in founding the first unified German fleet, the Reichsflotte...

, who had held this position in the predecessor Prussian Navy
Prussian Navy
Throughout the centuries, Prussia’s military consistently concentrated on its land power, and never sought a similar power at sea. Yet historically there were always Prussian naval forces , beginning in the days when "Prussia" meant only the Margraviate of Brandenburg.- The Navy of Electoral...

 and the Navy of the North German Confederation
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...

. He served under the emperor’s direct command, controlling inspections throughout the navy to maintain regulations for the highest efficiency. When Adalbert died on 6 June 1873, the position was left vacant.

Only in March 1899, when Wilhelm II took over as the supreme commander of the Navy through the Admiralstab
German Imperial Admiralty Staff
The German Imperial Admiralty Staff was a military institution established in 1899 under the direct authority and command of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II for managing the German Imperial Navy...

 (Admiralty Staff) was the Inspector General reactivated. Admiral Hans von Koester
Hans von Koester
Hans Ludwig Raimund von Koester was a German naval officer who served in the Prussian Navy and later in the Imperial German Navy. He retired as a Grand Admiral....

 held the office from of 14 March 1899 until 29 December 1906, when the office was again left vacant.

Admiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia
Prince Heinrich of Prussia
Prince Henry of Prussia was a younger brother of German Emperor William II and a Prince of Prussia...

 held the office from 1 October 1909 to 10 August 1918.

There exists a similar office (Inspekteur der Marine) in the navy of the modern Federal Republic of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Sources

  • Die organisatorische Entwicklung der Marine nebst Stellenbesetzung 1848 bis 1945 / Hans H. Hildebrand. - Osnabrück : Biblio-Verl.; (Formationsgeschichte und Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Streitkräfte 1815 - 1990 ; Teil II, Band.1, S.74
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