Andreas Eberhard Freiherr von Budberg-Bönninghausen (russian: Андрей Яковлевич Будберг; tr. ) (10 August 1750 – 1 September 1812) was a Baltic German

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who served as Foreign Minister in 1806–07.

Biography

By birth, member of an old Baltic German noble House of Budberg, he was the son of Jacob von Budberg-Bönninghausen (d. 1759) and his wife, Marie Elisabeth von Below (1725-1782). His ancestors moved to Livonia in the 16th century from

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. Budberg was born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and entered the military service in 1759. He participated in the Russo-Turkish war 1768–1774. In 1783 Budberg was promoted to

podpolkovnik ''Podpolkovnik'' (russian: подполко́вник, lit=sub –, junior – , or lower regimentary) is a military rank in Slavic and nearby countries which corresponds to the lieutenant colonel in the English-speaking states and military. ...

. The same year Riga

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

George Browne George Browne may refer to: *Sir George Browne (died 1483) (1440–1483), took part in Buckingham's rebellion *George Browne (archbishop of Dublin) (died 1556), Anglican bishop in Ireland * George Browne (by 1517–62 or later), MP for Berwick-upon ...

recommended Budberg to the Empress

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

as a diplomat. In fact, Budberg had been serving in the army as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

officer and had no diplomatic experience. Brown did it because he was a good friend of Budberg's parents. In 1784 he was appointed a tutor to Catherine's grandson

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

and held this position until 1795. In 1793 Budberg was sent to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

to arrange marriage of Catherine's granddaughter

Alexandra Pavlovna Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia (russian: Александра Павловна: 9 August 1783 S 29 Julyat Tsarskoye Selo – 16 March 1801 in Buda) was a daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and sister of emperors Alexander I and Ni ...

and young king of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Gustav IV Adolf. Initially consent was given, but later Gustav IV Adolf renounced the betrothal. Two years later Budberg was appointed ambassador in Sweden. In 1799 Catherine II died and

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

succeeded her. Paul I disliked Budberg and soon he was forced to resign. In 1804 Alexander I appointed him to the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

. Budberg was known for his distrust of

Napoleon 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 ...

and in 1806 he became

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. However, in 1807 when the treaties of Tilsit were signed, he resigned and retired from politics.

Personal life

He was married to Anna Helene Charlotte von Meck (1762-1799), daughter of Johann Gotthard von Meck (1731-1779) and his wife, Dorothea Elisabeth von Campenhausen (b. 1741). They had three daughters: * Baroness Martha von Budberg-Bönninghausen (1783-1787) * Baroness Katharina von Budberg-Bönninghausen (1785-1842) * Baroness Helene Julie von Budberg-Bönninghausen (1787-1856); married her cousin, Baron Theodor Otto von Budberg-Bönninghausen (1779–1840). They were parents of: ** Baron Andrey Fedorovich von Budberg, Russian diplomat

References

External links

Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften, Teil 1, 2: Livland, Lfg. 9-15, Görlitz 1929, pp.648
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budberg, Andrei 1750 births 1812 deaths Diplomats from Riga People from Kreis Riga Baltic-German people Foreign ministers of the Russian Empire Diplomats of the Russian Empire Politicians of the Russian Empire Russian nobility 18th-century Latvian people People of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)