Count Aleksander Stanisław Potocki (, 1778–1845) was a

Polish noble The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

, landowner and politician. He was the senator-castellan of the Polish Kingdom in 1824 and chamberlain of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. He was awarded Order of the White Eagle on 24 May 1829.

Biography

Youth and family

Born in Warsaw, he was the son of the third

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

Count

Stanisław Kostka Potocki Count Stanisław Kostka Potocki (; November 1755 – 14 September 1821) was a Polish nobleman, politician, writer, public intellectual and patron of the arts. Life Potocki was a son of General and starost of Lwów, Eustachy Potocki and An ...

and his wife

Aleksandra Lubomirska Princess Aleksandra Lubomirska (1760–1836) was a Polish ''szlachcianka'', landowner and art collector. She married Stanisław Kostka Potocki Count Stanisław Kostka Potocki (; November 1755 – 14 September 1821) was a Polish nobleman, ...

. On 15 May 1805, in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, he married

Anna Tyszkiewicz Anna Tyszkiewicz (1779–1867) was a Polish szlachta, noblewoman and diarist. Anna was the daughter of Ludwik Tyszkiewicz and Konstancja Poniatowska, and married Aleksander Stanisław Potocki on 15 May 1805 in Vilnius, Wilno, divorced him in 18 ...

(with whom he had Augustus, Maurycy and

Natalia Potocka Prince Roman Adam Stanisław Sanguszko (1800–1881) was a Polish aristocrat, patriot, political and social activist. Biography Roman Sanguszko was born on 6 May 1800 in his family manor in Volhynia. The eldest of his kin, he was the heir ...

). The unsuccessful marriage ended in divorce in 1821. In 1823 he entered into a marriage with Izabella Mostowska, with whom he had Stanisław Potocki. He divorced Izabella soon after the birth of the child. At the end of his life Potocki was involved in a romance with a widow, Aleksandra Stokowska, which he never married.

Politics and career

In 1802 was made a Knight of Malta. From 1805 he lived with his wife in the estate in the district of

Wilanów Wilanów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It is home to historic Wilanów Palace, the "Polish Versailles," and second home to various Polish kings. History The first mentions of a settlement in the area can be traced to the 13th ...

, named in 1807 in honour of his daughter Natalia -

Natolin Natolin is a residential neighborhood in Ursynów, the southernmost district of Warsaw. Until the 1980s, Natolin and its neighbouring area Wolica, was a small village located right outside the city limits, with numerous orchards. After that it wa ...

(property several times rebuilt by

Piotr Aigner Chrystian Piotr Aigner (1756 in Puławy, Poland – 9 February 1841 in Florence, Italy) was a Polish architect and theoretician of architecture. Life Chrystian Piotr Aigner acquired extensive knowledge of architecture in the course of several jour ...

, and after the divorce with his first wife in the years 1821-1845 under the supervision of Henryk Marconi). Potocki was a chamberlain Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, 1812 has been a member of the Committee set up by him of the Provisional Government of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

. In 1824 he was the Senator-Castellan of

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

. On 24 May 1829 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle. Potocki did not participate in the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

, nor in any of the sessions of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

, for which in 1831 was expelled from the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. On 12 April 1843 he inherited the title of count.

External links

Alexander Potocki at the Wilanow Palace Museum

Biography

Youth and family

Politics and career

External links

Further reading