Karl Wilhelm von Finckenstein
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:
- Friedrich Wilhelm (March 6, 1744 - February 11, 1755)
- Friedrich Ludwig Karl (1745–1818), President of the Neumärk government ∞ Albertine von Schönburg-Glauchau (1748–1810)
- Elisabeth Amalie Charlotte (1749–1813) ∞ Alexander Friedrich George Graf von der Schulenburg-Blumenberg (1745 - 16 May 1790), Prussian Minister of State
- Marie Susanne Karoline (1751–1828) ∞ Otto Carl Friedrich von Voss (1755–1823), Prussian Minister of State
- Friederike Wilhelmine Henriette (* November 14, 1752 † December 23, 1830) ∞ August Ludwig von Schierstedt (* September 25, 1746; † November 8, 1831)
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
- Siegfried Isaacsohn : Finck von Finckenstein, Karl Wilhelm Graf . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, pp. 22-25.
- Lothar Graf zu Dohna: Finck von Finckenstein, Karl Wilhelm. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , pp. 152-154 ( digitized version ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Members of the previous academies. Karl Wilhelm Count Finck von Finckenstein. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences , accessed on March 23, 2015 .
Web links
- Correspondence between Frederick the Great and Karl Wilhelm von Finckenstein (French and German)
personal data | |
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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 |