Germany: Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), “the Iron Chancellor,” presides over German unification and the second German Empire.
The “Second Reich” will span 1871–1918. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the period of the unification of Germany (by Chancellor Bismarck in 1871) and the proclamation of Wilhelm I as Emperor (Jan 18, 1871) until 1918-19 when it transitioned to the German Republic after its defeat in WWI and the abdication of Wilhelm II (November 28, 1918).