Franz von Meinders

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Franz von Meinders (1630–1695)

Franz von Meinders (born November 25, 1630 in Bielefeld , † April 22, 1695 in Berlin ) was the Brandenburg minister and diplomat under Friedrich Wilhelm and Friedrich III.

He comes from the middle-class Meinders family from Bielefeld. His father was the land rent master Albert Meinders (1580–1665), his mother his wife Anna Rhoden .

Life

Little is known about his early life. He studied law and was licentiate in law. In 1655 he was secretary to Count Georg Friedrich von Waldeck . At the time, he was an important minister of the Brandenburg Elector Friedrich Wilhelm . When the minister switched to the service of the Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Celle in 1665 , Meinders stayed in Berlin and became the elector's secret secretary. This sent him on a number of diplomatic missions. Meinders went through numerous administrative and judicial offices, so in 1667 he became director of the Ravensberg appeals court. In 1672 he was appointed privy councilor. He was one of the most influential councilors in the Brandenburg cabinet, especially on questions of foreign policy. He made numerous legation trips to the capitals of Europe and was a negotiator for important international treaties, such as the Jülich-Klevian inheritance settlement of 1666, the alliance with Holland in 1672 or the Peace of Vossem in 1673. In the latter, he was the sole proxy of the elector.

He then negotiated in the Treaty of Saint-Germain and achieved a (short-lived) alliance with France. In 1679, Otto von Schwerin, one of the elector's most important ministers, died. After that Paul von Fuchs and Meinders were the elector's most important advisors. In 1682, Emperor Leopold rose to the rank of Imperial Knight .

Even after the death of Friedrich Wilhelm in 1688, Meinders remained an important advisor to the new Elector Friedrich , but Minister Eberhard von Danckelmann became more and more influential. Meinders' last work for the Brandenburg state was the negotiation of a new contract for the Schwiebuser Kreis (1694).

In his will he left 400 thalers for the foundation of an orphanage in Bielefeld. A plaque at the north side entrance of the Ratsgymnasium still reminds of this today.

Memorial plaque on the north side of the Ratsgymnasium Bielefeld.

family

He married Luise Eleonore Heydekampf († 1692) in Berlin on September 19, 1665 . She was the eldest daughter of the electoral councilor and secret chamberlain Christian Sigismund Heydekampf († 1682). From this marriage he had daughters:

  • Dorothea Charlotte (* 1671; † June 13, 1734) ⚭ Imbert Rollaz du Rosey (1657–1704), commander of the Swiss Guard
  • Luise Elisabeth († July 25, 1715) ⚭ 1684 Kuno Hartwig von Quitzow († January 11, 1719) heir of Eldenburg

Just three months after his wife's death, he married Gertrud Sophie von Grote (1653–1693), the widow of his friend Joachim Ernst von Grumbkow , but she died shortly after the wedding. He then married Countess Luise Katharina zu Eulenburg (* 1673; † August 1711). She was the widow of Baron Colonel Wilhelm Ludwig von Poellnitz († 1693) (eldest son of Gerhard Bernhard von Pölnitz ). The couple had the following children:

After the death of her husband, the widow marries the court marshal Christian Ludwig von der Wense .

literature

Web links

Commons : Franz von Meinders  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Bahl : The court of the great elector. P. 156
  2. ^ Franz von Meinders at genealogieonline.nl
  3. ↑ Luise Elisabeth at geneanet.org
personal data
SURNAME Meinders, Franz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meinders, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Kurbrandenburg ministers under Friedrich Wilhelm and Friedrich
DATE OF BIRTH November 25, 1630
PLACE OF BIRTH Bielefeld
DATE OF DEATH April 22, 1695
Place of death Berlin