Quick Facts
Biography
Dietrich Graf (Count) von Hülsen-Haeseler (February 13, 1852, Berlin, Germany – November 14, 1908, Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) was an infantry general of the German Empire.
The son of a Prussian general, Dietrich in 1870 became a lieutenant in the Prussian Emperor Alexander Guards Grenadiers. He attended the War College and was attached to the German General Staff in 1882. Then, in 1889, he was made aide de camp to Kaiser Wilhelm II
In 1894 he was named military attaché at the German embassy in Vienna. In 1897, now a colonel, he returned to Berlin as commander of a guards regiment. In 1899 he was promoted to major general, made chief of general staff in the Guards Corps, and then given command of the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade.
From May 1901 until his death in November 1908 he served as Chief of the German Imperial Military Cabinet, during which time he rose to General of Infantry.
Death
In November 1908, Dietrich Graf von Hülsen-Haeseler died of a heart attack while on a hunting trip in honor of the Kaiser. At the time of his death he was dressed as a ballerina and dancing for the Kaiser. The circumstances were covered up by the officer corps so as not to further inflame public pressure over the homosexually themed Harden-Eulenburg Affair. Ironically, it was von Hülsen-Haeseler who had organized the cover up of that scandal.