Mark Antony de la Haye de Launay

Marcus Antonius de la Haye de Launay (also Marc Antoine Andre de la Haye de Launay ) (* 1730 in France, † unknown) was a Frenchman in the Prussian service.

Life

Marcus Antonius de la Haye de Launay entered Prussian service in the spring of 1766 and received the title of Privy Finance Councilor in July 1766. For six years, he initially took over as director of the new management of most of the indirect tax administration, which was set up on the French model. The idea to change the previous management of indirect taxes came from the French philosopher and general tax farmer Claude Adrien Helvétius , who, during a stay in Potsdam in the spring of 1766, familiarized King Frederick II with the French lease and tax system had made and was able to win him over to its introduction in Prussia; for this he wanted to send five Frenchmen, including Marcus Antonius de la Haye de Launay.

When he entered Prussian service, it had been contractually agreed that he would receive a high annual salary and a bonus calculated on the basis of the surpluses that exceeded the previous average.

Due to his promise to Frederick II that he would achieve higher income, so that the financial means were available to establish the army and state after the Seven Years' War , he enjoyed his trust and was able to sign a new contract on his in May 1772 complete further employment.

In June 1776 he submitted a promemoria on the better establishment of the excise courts and conferred on this with the minister Karl Abraham von Zedlitz .

In spring 1782 he was anonymously denounced, accusing him of violating the practice of granting royalties in the cabinet. The subsequent revision of the head of the Oberrechenkammer (court of audit ), who checked the administration's bills, could not find any violations, but subsequently allowed the award of royalties to be greatly reduced.

In the last decade of the king's life, Marcus Antonius de la Haye de Launay was one of the latter's economic policy advisors and prepared expert opinions on reports and proposals from the ministers, the finance councils and the chamber president.

After the death of Friedrich II, the management was dissolved and he was relieved of his position, with orders not to leave Berlin and Prussia until a commission had checked his report; Minister Hans Ernst Dietrich von Werder was commissioned with this.

According to his own statement, during the time of his administration he brought in over 42 million thalers more income for the state than his predecessors, i.e. an annual average of two million thalers, which Frederick II had demanded from his general management in 1765, but which could not guarantee this income. The Commission of the Minister of Werder noted that this sum, especially after 1772 West Prussia had come at a significantly increased population to be an inconsiderable Quantum reduced; however, no irregularities were found.

Marcus Antonius de la Haye de Launay received 10,000 thalers a year at his fixed annual salary of 15,000 thalers; thus he received about 500,000 thalers during his entire service, and thus more than any other official in the Prussian state before him. Due to the favor of Frederick II, he also received from him the promise that if the contract was terminated he would receive an annual pension of 5,000 thalers.

His opponent Honoré Gabriel de Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau even accused him of not generating any additional income, but of being a significant burden for the state treasury. In Prussia, the system itself was perceived as particularly burdensome by the population, due to the increased taxes on food and the high percentage of administrative costs, especially since coffee grinders were also introduced from 1780 onwards. Friedrich Wilhelm II. Lifted the increased taxes at the end of 1786.

On October 26, 1786, he received his farewell and permission to leave Berlin and Prussia. He immediately returned to Paris after voluntarily renouncing the guaranteed pension.

Marcus Antonius de la Haye de Launay was married and had several children. After entering Prussian service, he had his family come to Prussia from France in 1766.

Fonts (selection)

• Friedrichs des Zweyten, King of Prussia, economic-political financial system; justified by its secret Oberfinanzrath and first director, de la Haye de Launay. A refutation of the false claims made by the Count of Mirabeau, in his writing: about the Prussian monarchy . Berlin 1789.

literature

• Siegfried Isaacsohn:  Launay, de la Haye de . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 18, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1883, pp. 52-54.    
• Rolf Straubel: Biographical manual of the Prussian administrative and judicial officials 1740-1806 / 15 . Walter de Gruyter, 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-44130-1 . P. 557.
• Marcus Antonius de la Haye de Launay in Honoré-Gabriel de Riquetti de Mirabeau: From the Prussian Monarchy under Frederick the Great: Volume 3 containing the 5th book on trade and 6th book receipt and issue . Braunschweig and Leipzig 1794. pp. 183, 188, 323-357, 407-409, 415-465.