Philipp Karl von Alvensleben
Philipp Karl Graf von Alvensleben (born December 16, 1745 in Hanover , † October 21, 1802 in Berlin ) was a diplomat and from 1791 to 1802 Prussian State, War and Cabinet Minister.
family
He came from the Low German noble family von Alvensleben and was the eldest son of the Hanoverian Secret Council Gebhard August von Alvensleben (1719–1779) on Neugattersleben and his wife Dorothea Friederike, née. von Hardenberg (1721–1761). His father's brother was the British and Hanoverian minister Johann Friedrich Karl von Alvensleben (1714–1795), who headed the German chancellery in London for a long time, his grandfather the Hanoverian minister Rudolf Anton von Alvensleben (1688–1733). Philipp Karl von Alvensleben remained unmarried. After the death of his uncle Johann Friedrich Karl in 1796 the possession of the castle and estate Hundisburg fell to him.
Life
He lived in Hanover until he was 13. In 1758 the family moved to Gut Neugattersleben . During the Seven Years' War (1756–63) he received occasional lessons in Magdeburg with the Prussian Prince Friedrich Wilhelm , who later became King, and his brother Prince Heinrich , which resulted in a close friendship. He then studied in Halle until 1770 and began a legal career as a trainee lawyer at the Berlin Court of Appeal.
In 1774 he left the judicial service, took on a position as court cavalier for Prince Ferdinand for some time and began a diplomatic career in 1775 as the Prussian ambassador in Dresden . In the Bavarian War of Succession in 1778 he concluded a secret treaty on matters of succession with the Electoral Saxon Minister von Stutterheim and successfully negotiated a number of other Prussian-Saxon state treaties. In 1787 he was deployed to special missions in Hanover and Paris, in 1788 he received the post of extraordinary envoy in the Netherlands, in 1789 he was in the same position in London. On May 1, 1791, King Friedrich Wilhelm II appointed him real secret Minister of State, War and Cabinet. After the death of Karl Wilhelm von Finckenstein in 1801 he became the first cabinet minister.
Work and appreciation
Alvensleben was well educated, had diverse scientific and artistic interests and left behind extensive written records on the cultural history of his time, which were kept in the Gutsarchiv in Erxleben until 1945 and have since disappeared. His writings were printed - albeit anonymously -: “Attempt to create a tabular list of the war events from the Munster to the Hubertusburg Peace”, Berlin 1792. A memorandum “Proposal for the introduction of Latin letters for reasons of state” ( Berlinische Blätter , February 21 1798), in which he campaigned for a font reform - not least because of his international experience. His sensitivity to social issues was reflected in his plan for a “poor servants' home”.
Alvensleben received a number of high honors: In 1785 he was in Sonnenburg Knight of the Order of St. John defeated in 1787 made an honorary member of the Berlin Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 1792 he was awarded the Red Eagle , 1798 Black Eagle and in January 1800, he was a Count raised.
literature
- Biography Universelle . Paris 1811, pp. 652/653
- JS Ed and JG Gruber: General encyclopedia of science and arts . Third part. Halle 1818 (reprint 1969), article Alvensleben (Philipp Karl, Graf von).
- Siegmund Wilhelm Wohlbrück: Historical news of the Alvensleben family and their estates . Third part. Berlin 1829, pp. 402-406.
- Julius Grossmann: Alvensleben, Count Philipp Karl von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 378 f.
- Udo von Alvensleben: Alvensleben-Hundisburg, Philipp Karl Graf von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 234 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Udo von Alvensleben-Wittenmoor : Philipp Carl Graf v. Alvensleben, 1745-1802 . Unpublished manuscript. Bodelschwingh 1959, 22 pp.
- Martin Wiehle : Altmark personalities. Biographical lexicon of the Altmark, the Elbe-Havel-Land and the Jerichower Land (= contributions to the cultural history of the Altmark and its peripheral areas. Vol. 5). Dr. ziethen verlag, Oschersleben 1999, ISBN 3-932090-61-6 , p. 12.
- Udo von Alvensleben-Wittenmoor: The Alvensleben in Kalbe 1324-1945 , edited by Reimar von Alvensleben, Falkenberg August 2010 (180 S).
Web links
- Edited letters from and to Philipp Karl von Alvensleben in the web service correspSearch of the BBAW
- familie-von-alvensleben.de
- Tripota - Trier portrait database
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Joachim Erdmann von Arnim |
Prussian envoy in Dresden 1775–1787 |
Karl Friedrich von Gessler |
| Friedrich Wilhelm von Thulemeyer |
Prussian envoy in The Hague 1787–1788 |
Christoph von Keller (from 1790) |
| Spiridion from Lusi |
Prussian envoy in London 1788–1790 |
Sigismund Ehrenreich Johann von Redern |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Alvensleben, Philipp Karl von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Alvensleben, Philipp Karl Graf von (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prussian diplomat and minister |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 16, 1745 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hanover |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 21, 1802 |
| Place of death | Berlin |