Henk was an officer of middle-class background, had initially served in the merchant marine before entering the navy, and though he had been exonerated by the investigation into the Gazelle collision, it nevertheless had damaged his reputation. Later in 1872, the idea for establishing a permanent "flying squadron" of cruising warships to respond to crises around the world was raised, but Henk rejected it on the grounds that it was excessively expensive; Stosch sided with Henk and the proposal came to nothing. For the majority of his tenure as Director of the Admiralty, Henk was restricted to technical matters after 1874 in a move by Stosch to further limit the challenge Henk might pose to him. As a result, he had authority only on matters of ship building, ordnance, and supply. He remained there until July 1879. During this time he was promoted further (1877) to Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral), and the following year was raised to the hereditary peerage. He retired in 1879 and was given a pension. Between 1890 and 1893, Henk served in the Reichstag as a member of the German Conservative Party, representing the electoral district of Ueckermünde-Wollin. He died in Berlin. Notes References External links 1820 births 1894 deaths People from Anklam People from the Province of Pomerania German Conservative Party politicians Members of the 8th Reichstag of the German Empire Vice admirals of the Imperial German Navy Prussian naval officers Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania