Heinrich Wilhelm von Werther

Heinrich August Alexander Wilhelm von Werther (baron since 1841) (born August 7, 1772 in Königsberg , † December 7, 1859 in Berlin ) was a Prussian diplomat and between 1837 and 1841 Prussian Foreign Minister.

Life

Werther was the son of Lieutenant General Philipp August Wilhelm von Werther (1729–1802) and his second wife Sophie Albertine Elisabeth von Korff (1744–1795). He also entered the Prussian military service in 1787. As Rittmeister he took part in the 1807 campaign in the dragoon regiment of his father, who died in 1802. After the Peace of Tilsit , Werther left the army as a captain because of the downsizing of the armed forces. First he was then chamberlain of Friedrich Wilhelm III.

In 1810 Werther entered the diplomatic service. Between 1809 and 1813 he was the Prussian ministerial resident in Constantinople . He then became envoy to Spain in 1814 and envoy and plenipotentiary minister in London in 1821 . Among other things, he played a key role in negotiating the first Prussian-English shipping agreement of 1823. He then served in Paris between 1824 and 1837 . Especially in the phase of the July Revolution of 1830 , he played an internationally balancing role.

In 1831 he had refused the post of foreign minister, but between 1837 and 1841 he was the successor to the late Johann Ancillon . Even if he had problems asserting himself in domestic affairs, he managed to maintain good relations with France. Werther also helped to build the railway from Cologne to Antwerp . During the oriental crisis , Werther resisted the urging of Russia, which wanted Prussia to get involved in the military, because he was of the opinion that in a possible war the burden of Austria's military weakness would weigh on Prussia.

After leaving as minister, he was head of the Neuchâtel department . At the same time, Werther was a member of the Prussian State Council until its dissolution in 1848 .

family

He married Countess Josephine von Sandizell on September 18, 1797 (* May 18, 1777; † November 8, 1853). The couple had a son:

• Karl Anton Philipp (January 31, 1809; † February 8, 1894) Prussian diplomat ⚭ July 30, 1846 Mathilde Lobo Da Silveira von Oriola (* February 3, 1827; † May 30, 1899)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jürgen Angelow: From Vienna to Königgrätz: The security policy of the German Confederation. 1996 p.115

literature

• Hermann von Petersdorff:  Werther, Heinrich Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 42, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1897, pp. 111-113.

Web links

• Entry Brockhaus from 1837