He was the Governor of the colonies of Kamerun and German East Africa, and later became Chef de Cabinet and Foreign Minister of the King of Württemberg.

Julius von Soden was born on 5 February 1846 in the barracks of the 7th Infantry Regiment in Ludwigsburg, where his father was lieutenant colonel.

His temporary tutor Julius Klaiber and his schoolmasters in high school inspired him with an interest in antiquity, and he aspired to become a classical scholar.

The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 created a problem, since Soden had by then become a reserve officer and was a strong supporter of the Prussian Otto von Bismarck, while his family sympathized with Austria.

Without a telegraph system, it was very difficult to simultaneously fulfill the offices of Chief Commissioner of Togoland and Consul General of the Gulf of Guinea.

In the circumstances, Soden emphasized a strategy of "peaceful" development of the "protected area", with the goal of maximizing the economic benefits of the colony.

[3] Soden quickly realized the potential of Cameroon for plantations, and encouraged the Hamburg-based Land- und Plantagengesellschaft in their project in Man O' War Bay.

Without consulting him, the government appointed three commissioners with vague powers: Eduard Schnitzer, known as Emin Pasha, Carl Peters, and Hermann von Wissmann, Soden's two immediate predecessors in the colonial administration.

Soden was handicapped in his main task of reorganizing the local security forces by being a civilian whose authority was not readily recognized by the military.

He found that the principles of colonial policy that he had formulated over years of experience were in conflict with the "global politics" of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

To overcome the distrust of a purely secular education by the upper-class Swahili families, a Koranic teacher was employed, but he was swiftly dismissed after the missionary lobby caused an uproar in Germany.

He also traveled throughout Germany, coming into closer contact with the governments of the states, and also continued to be involved in colonial affairs as a consultant.

In this position, he promoted improvements in the transport sector, driving forward the unification of the railroads and expanding the Württemberg branch lines.

A few months after a new semester began in January 1921, Soden suffered a physical collapse, and on 2 February 1921, after a 14-day illness, he died three days before his 75th birthday.