He was promoted to the office of district administrator of Tuchel in 1885 and became president of the city council of Danzig in 1891.

[1] In these positions he was distinguished by his strong opposition to the parliamentary system of the Reichstag but also his role in modernizing the German government.

During the First World War, the increasing conflict between the Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg and leading figures in the German military, especially Paul Hindenburg led to his replacement with Karl Helfferich.

On his dismissal, he was awarded the Order of the Black Eagle and was given a letter assigning to him the status of hereditary nobleman.

Von Delbrück remained politically active after the war, and was a founding member of the German National People's Party.