Ewald von Kleist (diplomat)

Ewald von Kleist (* around 1615 ; † December 2, 1689 in Siegenburg ) was a lawyer and diplomat in the Brandenburg and Bavarian services.

Life

Kleist was the son of Georg von Kleist and his wife, Barbara, née von Hohendorff . Apart from his upbringing in the spirit of Martin Luther , very little is known about Kleist's childhood and youth.

Kleist began to study law at the University of Königsberg in 1632 and switched to the University of Siena on December 14, 1641 . After successfully completing his studies, Kleist came to Potsdam , to the court of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg .

Kleist made a career as a court official and the Great Elector soon appointed him a member of the Kurbrandenburg chamber judge. With effect from July 25, 1644 Kleist was allowed by his employer to set up his own company. As Rittmeister, he led them in 1645/46 in the regiment of Colonel Georg Ehrenreich von Burgsdorff .

With effect from March 10, 1646, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm Kleist appointed special envoy to the States General and Prince Friedrich Heinrich of Orange . On November 23, 1648, Kleist became Chamberlain and Privy Councilor almost simultaneously.

Kleist was appointed as such on January 18, 1648 - together with Siegmund von Götzen, Georg Ehrenreich von Burgsdorff, Bernhard von Arnim, Otto von Schwerin, Jobst Gerhard von Hertefeld, Hans Georg von Ribbeck and Otto Christoph von Rochow (all officials and officers from Brandenburg) - accepted into the fruitful society .

Prince Ludwig I. von Anhalt-Köthen gave Kleist the company name of the terrible and the motto the eye, head and body . The Byzantine Beonie ( Paeonia mascula (L.) Mill. Ssp. Mascula ) was assigned to Kleist as an emblem . Kleist's entry can be found in the Koethen Society Register under no. 497. This also includes the rhyme law that Kleist wrote on the occasion of his recording:

Beonjen flowers, named by Bisantz,

Be beautiful and enjoyable. I love it

The name for me: Whoever learns virtuously

At the same time it is delightful and does not easily sadden anyone:

He turns away what we bring us spot and shame,

In his virtue only gives us pleasure and joy:

Whoever does good service must be delightful

'Aug' also agrees with him in every respect.

On June 11, 1653, Kleist was appointed dean by the cathedral chapter of Cammin . At the same time, Kleist was promoted to the position of governor of Marienfließ and the first Brandenburg government president in Western Pomerania with his employer, the Great Elector . Kleist took up this office in December 1653, but it was not officially introduced until the following year.

In October 1662, Kleist surprisingly left his family, resigned from all offices and secretly went to Bavaria . With a letter of September 3, 1663 to his employer, Kleist informed him of his conversion to the Catholic faith. Since Kleist ultimately harmed neither his career nor his reputation, the suspicion arises that he was, so to speak, on a secret diplomatic mission.

In 1667 Elector Ferdinand appointed Maria Kleist to the Privy Council and appointed him to the keeper of Rottenburg ( Lower Bavaria ). When Kleist's first wife, Eleonora Elisabeth von Winterfeld, died on August 22, 1671, he was inconsolable, but in 1674 he married Maria Katharina Franziska, a daughter of Count Wolfgang Veit von Hohenwaldeck .

Kleist's career led to the position of President of the Court Council (1674) and Chamberlain and Deputy Governor (1682). Kleist reached the high point of his career in 1686 when he was appointed President of the War Council and Chancellor of the Upper Palatinate.

Ewald von Kleist died on December 2, 1689 in Siegenburg at the age of about 75.

literature

• Berndt von Kleist: The family trees of the von Kleist family , (1966)
• Wedding poem by Simon Dach, Königsberg 1643, in VD17 (input: Kleist, Ewald)
• Biography and documents on Ewald von Kleist's diplomatic activities