Adolf Heinrich Graf von Arnim-Boitzenburg (10 April 1803 – 8 January 1868) was a German statesman. He served as the first Minister-President of Prussia for ten days during the Revolution of 1848.
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Early life
Arnim was born in the Prussian capital Berlin, the son of envoy Friedrich Abraham Wilhelm von Arnim (1767–1812) and his wife Georgine von Wallmoden-Grimborn (1770–1859), a daughter of the Hanoverian field marshal and art collector Johann Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn and thereby presumably a granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain. His parents divorced when he was three years old.
Having finished his studies in Berlin and Göttingen in 1825, he joined the Prussian Guards Uhlans regiment as a One-year volunteer and afterwards entered civil service at the Kammergericht.
Career
In 1830, he was appointed Landrat official in the Uckermark district. In 1833, he became Vice-president of the Pomeranian Stralsund government region. One year later, he assumed the position of President in the Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) region, from 1838 in Merseburg, Saxony. In 1840 he became governor (Oberpräsident) of the Grand Duchy of Posen.
In 1842 Arnim was called back to Berlin to be appointed Prussian State Minister of the Interior. Nevertheless, he resigned in 1845 because his plans for a constitution for Prussia were at odds with King Frederick William IV's romantic ideals. When the March Revolution broke out in 1848, his services were again in demand. From 19 March 1848, he acted as the first Prussian Minister-President and Foreign Minister. However, he again resigned within a few days after the king chose to place himself at the head of the national movement.