Prussian House of Representatives
In Königsberg he was elected a local administrator ("Landrat") in 1856, and during the 1860s he was three times elected Lord Mayor of Königsberg. However, the government in Berlin refused to confirm the election results and he was accordingly prevented from taking up the offices. Between 1862 and 1876 he sat as a member of the Prussian House of Representatives ("Preußisches Abgeordnetenhaus") where he represented the newly formed Progressive Party ("Deutsche Fortschrittspartei"/ DFP).