Johann Josef von Wilczek
Johann Josef Maria Graf von Wilczek (also Wilczeck ) (born June 18, 1738 in Groß-Petrowitz , † February 2, 1819 in Vienna ) was an Austrian diplomat and civil servant. Most recently he was head of the government in the Habsburg duchy of Milan under Governor General Ferdinand Karl and at the same time as plenipotentiary representative of the emperor in imperial Italy .
family
He was the son of the Austrian Feldzeugmeister Joseph Maria Balthasar Graf von Wilczek . He himself was married twice. His first marriage was Theresia von Clary-Aldringen. The marriage remained childless. He later married Maria Luise Beatrix von Hardegg. From this marriage in 1800 the daughter Louise was born.
Life
He attended the Theresianum in Vienna and then entered the civil service. He was already a member of the Austrian government in 1760. In 1766 he moved to Italy to the new Consiglio supremo di economia in Milan. After a few years he went on a grand tour through Germany, France and Italy and got to know Lessing in Braunschweig . Back in Vienna, Wilczek was appointed by Maria Theresa as ambassador extraordinary to the court of her son Leopold as Grand Duke of Tuscany . As a ministre de famille , he has constant access to the Grand Duke's family. In 1771 he was accepted into the Florentine Accademia della Crusca . His work in Italy was interrupted in 1772 because of an illness in his father.
At times it was planned that he should take over the office of ajo (educator) for the children of the Grand Duke. It didn't come to that. Therefore, he returned to Vienna and became court advisor to the highest judicial authority and chamberlain to Josef II. Maria Theresa Wilczek provided her daughter Maria Karolina, Queen of the Two Sicilies, as a mediator and advisor. He tried to limit the Spanish influence on the politics of the royal couple. So he prevented a trip to Madrid .
His activity in Naples ended in 1778. He then entered the service of Archduchess Maria Beatrix von Este , the wife of Archduke Ferdinand, as chief steward . A short time later he became Consultore at the Gubernium in Milan and was intended to succeed Karl Joseph von Firmian . He took over his post as authorized minister and head of government in 1782. He was confidante of the archduke governor general, Archduke Ferdinand. Wilczek took care of the order of the financial system, took care of questions of trade and industry, of the road and postal system and other areas.
As plenipotentiary, the highest representative of the emperor in imperial Italy, he contributed to improving the legal system in imperial Italy.
He kept these positions until the French occupied the country in 1796. This also meant the end of his public activities.
He spent the last few years in seclusion. In 1811 Emperor Franz I appointed him Obersthofmarschall. From 1792 he was a knight of the Golden Fleece .
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Wilczek, Johann Joseph . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 56th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1888, p. 115 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Arthur Goldmann: Wilczek, Johann Joseph Maria Graf von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 42, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1897, pp. 482-486.
- Silvio Margadant: Wilzeck (Wilczek), Johann Joseph. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ^ Membership list of the Crusca
- ↑ Karl Otmar von Aretin: Das alten Reich 1648-1806 Vol. 3 Stuttgart, 1997 p. 170
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilczek, Johann Josef von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 18, 1738 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gross-Petrowitz |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 2, 1819 |
| Place of death | Vienna |