Karl Wilhelm von Finckenstein

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Karl Wilhelm Graf Finck von Finckenstein, oil painting by Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, 1777.
Karl Wilhelm Count Finck von Finckenstein
Heroes of peace under the horse's back: Karl Wilhelm Graf Finck von Finckenstein, 1st from left,
equestrian statue of Frederick the Great , Unter den Linden in Berlin

Karl Wilhelm Count Finck von Finckenstein ( February 11, 1714 - January 3, 1800 ) was a Prussian minister.

Life

Count Finck von Finckenstein, son of General Field Marshal and Governor Albrecht Konrad Finck von Finckenstein of Crown Prince Friedrich and father of Friedrich Ludwig Karl Finck von Finckenstein , studied in Geneva and, after traveling to France and Holland, was employed in 1735 as a legation councilor in the Prussian civil service and as a Prussian envoy sent to Stockholm , where he stayed until 1740.

Frederick the Great , who had great confidence in his childhood friend, first sent him as an ambassador to the Danish court, in 1742 to England , in 1744 back to Stockholm when his sister Luise Ulrike married the King of Sweden; In 1747 Finck received the title of Minister of State and was appointed envoy to the Russian court. From 1744 he was an honorary member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences .

Appointed cabinet minister in 1749, Finckenstein was henceforth one of the king's most intimate counselors, with whom he continually corresponded on all matters , particularly during the Seven Years' War , and whom he asked for advice in the most difficult cases. In a secret instruction of January 11, 1757, Frederick II handed over the affairs of state to the minister in the event of his death or capture.

From the death of Heinrich Graf von Podewils in 1760 to Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg's entry into the ministry in 1763, Finckenstein was in charge of foreign affairs alone. In 1762 he was awarded the Black Eagle Order. Even after 1763 he had the predominant influence on the king; until Frederick's death he enjoyed the position of friend of the king and also served the following monarchs, Friedrich Wilhelm II and Friedrich Wilhelm III. and celebrated his 50th anniversary as minister. After serving as Minister of State for 53 years, he died at the age of 85 on January 3, 1800.

family

He was married to Sophie Henriette Susanne Finck von Finckenstein (1723–1762) from the Gilgenburg family. The couple had 3 daughters and 3 sons, including:

Works

  • Memoire pour justifier la conduite du Roy contre les fausses imputations de la Cour de Saxe. Berlin 1756.
  • Justification of the conduct of Sr. Royal Majesty in Prussia against the highest Deroselbe of the Chur-Saxon court made false accusations. Same in German.
  • The justified behavior of Sr. Königl. Your Majesty in Prussia against the false accusations of the Dreßden court . 1756 ( digitized version )

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Members of the previous academies. Karl Wilhelm Count Finck von Finckenstein. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences , accessed on March 23, 2015 .

Web links

Commons : Karl Wilhelm von Finckenstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

This article is based on a text in the public domain from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , 4th edition from 1888 to 1890.

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personal data
SURNAME Finckenstein, Karl Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Finckenstein, Karl Wilhelm Finck von; Finckenstein, Carl Wilhelm von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Minister
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1714
DATE OF DEATH January 3, 1800