Otto von Bismarck was a German statesman and the architect of German unification. He was the first chancellor of the united nation. Through Bismarck's efforts, Germany was transformed from a loose collection of small states into the German Empire, the strongest industrialized nation in continental Europe.
A unified Germany permanently changed the European balance of power. Though Bismarck dominated German and European politics for almost 30 years, his career was a series of paradoxes. A master politician, he despised parliaments and parties. A German patriot, he created a German empire.
If Otto von Bismark had never done any of this then Germany might still be a small, powerless country compared to Europe. But because he did this the German Empire grew and soon was equal to Europe.
In the 20th century this turned out to be bad for Europe since Germany started both World Wars where millions of people died. It ended up dividing Europe after WWII thus creating Eastern and Western Europe.
