Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II reigned as German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Impulsive, insecure, and possessed of an ambition for Germany to be recognised as a world power, he dismissed Bismarck in 1890 and pursued an erratic Weltpolitik that alienated potential allies and confirmed Britain's alignment with France and Russia. His 'blank cheque' of unconditional support to Austria-Hungary in July 1914 was a decisive act enabling the slide to general war. He fled to exile in the Netherlands at the war's end, living until 1941, and never accepted responsibility for the catastrophe his reign had helped produce.
- Lived: 1859 CE – 1941 CE
- Nationality: German
- Roles: head of state, commander-in-chief
