| Albrecht | |
|---|---|
| Political family | |
 Coat of arms of the Albrecht family | |
| Place of origin | Höxter,Germany |
| Founded |
|
| Founder | Barthold Albrecht |
| Connected families | Knoop family Ladson family Von der Leyen |
TheAlbrecht family is aNorth German family whose members have been prominent as civil servants, politicians and businesspeople. The family was among thehübsche ("courtly" or "genteel") families of theKingdom of Hanover, the informal third elite group after the nobility and the clergy that encompassed the higher bourgeoisie and university-educated civil servants.
The family was first mentioned at the end of the 15th century in a register book of the city ofHöxter on the riverWeser,North Rhine-Westphalia.
The progenitor, or the founder of the family wasBarthold Albrecht (1557-1642), who was apastor inBodenwerder. Numerous of his descendants weredoctors,jurists,politicians, andcivil servants in what became theElectorate and later theKingdom of Hanover. The lawyerKarl Franz Georg Albrecht (1799–1873) became director-general of direct taxation in theKingdom of Hanover in 1847, and then director-general of customs from 1854 and member of theState Council of Hanover from 1856. He was the father ofGeorge Alexander Albrecht (1834–1898), who became a wealthy cotton merchant in the city state ofBremen, where he became part of theHanseatic elite and was appointed as theConsul of theAustro-Hungarian Empire in 1895. He married Baroness Louise DorotheaBetty vonKnoop (1844–1889), the eldest daughter of the major cotton industrialist,Baron Ludwig Johann von Knoop, who had beenennobled in theEmpire of Russia byEmperor Alexander II.
They were the parents of the cotton merchantCarl Albrecht (1875–1952), who married MaryLadson Robertson (1883–1960), who belonged to a prominent American family of theSouthern aristocracy fromCharleston, South Carolina; she was a descendant ofJames Ladson and several colonial governors of Carolina. Carl and Mary Albrecht were the parents of the medical doctor and psychologistCarl Albrecht (1902–1965). The latter was the father of the conductorGeorge Alexander Albrecht andErnst Albrecht, the European civil servant who later served asPrime Minister ofLower Saxony.
The conductor George Alexander Albrecht was the father of the chief conductor of the Dutch National OperaMarc Albrecht while Ernst Albrecht was the father of the President of the European CommissionUrsula von der Leyen (née Albrecht) and of her younger brother, the businessmanHans-Holger Albrecht.[1][2][3]
The family is included in theDeutsches Geschlechterbuch which covers the most prominent families in Germany.[1][2]
Throughout history, the family received thecoat of arms for their services. It features in red a golden lion that breaks a silver chain. On the red and silver bulginghelmet with red and silver covers, there is a red column on which stands a goldenstar.
