Armand François Louis de Mestral de Saint-Saphorin
Armand François Louis de Mestral de Saint-Saphorin (born February 8, 1738 in Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges , Canton Vaud , Switzerland ; † December 13, 1805 in Vienna , Austrian Empire ) was a Swiss nobleman and Danish envoy to Poland , Spain , the Netherlands , Russia and the Habsburg Monarchy .
Life
Armand de Mestral was a son of Gabriel-Henry de Pampigny and Judith-Louise de Pesmes, a daughter of François-Louis de Pesmes de Saint-Saphorin . He became lord of Saint-Saphorin, Vufflens-la-Ville, Dizy, Coinsins and Ganolier. He was evangelically reformed . Armand de Mestral studied political science in Geneva and 1758/59 in Göttingen .
The Danish Foreign Minister Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff placed him in 1762 as Chamberlain and Legation Secretary to Count von der Osten in Dresden and Warsaw . 1763 accompanied Mestral as a Chargé d'affaires Count from the east to Saint Petersburg .
In 1765 Armand de Mestral became Danish Minister Secretary in Warsaw and in 1767 envoy. With diplomatic skills he supported Foreign Minister Bernstorff in his efforts to prevent the fall of the Polish state. He also supported the Lutherans in Warsaw by having a wooden church built on the grounds of the embassy and by bringing pastor Johann Jakob Scheidemantel . He held the first ever Protestant church services in Warsaw, as Protestants in Poland were not officially allowed to do so.
Armand Mestral de Saint-Saphorin was the Danish envoy in Madrid in 1773 , in the Netherlands in 1778, in Saint Petersburg in 1784 and in Vienna in 1790. He died there in 1805.
Armand Mestral de Saint-Saphorin was not married. He was a collector of paintings and engravings .
Awards
- Knight of the Order of the White Eagle , 1773, Poland
- Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus , 1773, Poland
Web links
- P. Vedel: Saint-Saphorin, Armand François Louis de Mestral . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 14 : Resen – Saxtrup . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1900, p. 570 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
- Alexandre Pahud: Mestral, Armand François Louis de (de Saint-Saphorin). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Remarks
- ^ Anton Friedrich Büsching (ed.): Magazine for the new history and geography. Volume 18. Halle 1784, p. 365 ( books.google.de ).
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Ferdinand von Luckner |
Danish envoy to the Habsburg Monarchy 1790–1805 |
Georg Nikolaus Nissen |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mestral de Saint-Saphorin, Armand François Louis de |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Saint-Saphorin, Armand François Louis de Mestral de |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 8, 1738 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges , Canton of Vaud , Switzerland |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 13, 1805 |
| Place of death | Vienna , Austrian Empire |