Otto Hermann von der Howen
Otto Hermann von der Howen (born November 13, 1740 in Fockenhof (Courland), † June 15, 1806 in the post station Gulben (Livonia) ) was a state politician in the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia .
Life
Family and youth
Otto Hermann von der Howen came from the indigenous uradligen Courland family from the Howen . His parents were Otto Christopher von der Howen , country steward of the Duke of Courland, and Elisabeth Dorothea von Mirbach . He studied in Kiel , where he received his doctorate on November 17, 1759 on the subject of de sanctitate legatorum (On the inviolability of envoys) in international law, and Strasbourg (1761).
Courland offices
From 1765 to 1771 and in the years 1778 and 1780 Otto Hermann von der Howen represented the interests of the Courland knighthood to the overlord in Warsaw as a state delegate . In 1783 he represented the Courland Knighthood in the Russian-Courland Border Commission. From 1776 to 1786 he worked as a knight's secretary, from 1786 he was captain in Schrunden, head captain in Goldingen and land marshal, from 1786 to 1796 Oberburggraf in Mitau.
Political development
He lived in Courland from 1763 and, like his father Otto Christopher von der Howen, was a supporter of Duke Karl of Saxony, who was forced to abdicate, and an opponent of Ernst Johann von Biron . After his abdication in 1769 he tried to thwart the successor to the son of Duke Peter von Biron . Thereupon he was arrested at the instigation of the Russian government and spent the years 1771 to 1774 as a prisoner of state in the citadel of Riga . In 1776 he brokered an act of reconciliation or composition between Duke Peter and the Courland Knighthood , for which the Duke awarded him an annual pension of 1,000 thalers.
Political course
In the following years he went over to the pro-Russia party and achieved extraordinary political influence in Courland. In 1793 he succeeded in reducing the Duke's rights by means of a new composition act. Ultimately, it was mainly through his operation that the unconditional submission of Courland to Russian rule took place. Tsarina Catherine II appointed him privy councilor and presented him with two goods. Tsar Paul I appointed him senator, awarded him the Order of Anne 1st class and transferred two other goods to him.
Afterlife
Otto Hermann von der Howen was described very critically by his contemporaries. On the one hand, he was attested to have great political skills and a high level of assertiveness; on the other hand, he was convicted of his selfish behavior. Only Mathias Mesenhöller came in 2009 with a long time lag to a differentiated appreciation.
Fonts
- Dissertation Kiel 1759 de sanctitate legatorum [1]
literature
- Courland and its knighthood. Ilmgau Verlag 1971
- Mathias Mesenhöller: Class modernization. The Courland Knighthood Nobility 1760–1830 . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2009.
Web links
- Baltic Historical Commission (Ed.): Entry on Otto Hermann von der Howen. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
- Mirabeau: Secret reports from the Berlin court 1835 [2]
- Article Otto Hermann von der Howen in the Russian Wikipedia [3]
- Article Otto Hermann von der Howen in the Latvian Wikipedia [4]
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Howen, Otto Hermann from the |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Courland politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 13, 1740 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fockenhof (Courland) |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 15, 1806 |
| Place of death | Post station Gulben (Livonia) |