Emmerich Joseph Wolfgang Heribert de Dalberg, 1st Duke of Dalberg (31 May 1773 – 27 April 1833) was a German diplomat who was elevated to the

French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléo ...

in the

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 ...

ic era and who held senior government positions during the Bourbon Restoration.

Early career

Emmerich Joseph Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg was born in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, then capital of the

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

, on 31 May 1773. His father was Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg, a statesman of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

. Emmerich was the nephew of

Karl Theodor von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was Prince- Archbishop of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Bishop of Constance and Worms, prince-primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and ...

, arch-chancellor of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, Prince primate of the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

and Grand-Duke of Frankfurt. His family meant him to pursue a clerical career, and he studied at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

in Lower Saxony. Dalberg was at Vienna in the Imperial Chancellery when the stance of his uncle, who had taken the French side, ended his diplomatic career with the Austrian court. He was then named Councillor to the

King of Bavaria King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand ...

. After the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

(9 February 1801) between the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

, he was accredited to Paris as minister of the

Margrave of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

. He negotiated the marriage of the young

Charles, Grand Duke of Baden Charles (german: Karl Ludwig Friedrich; 8 July 1786 – 8 December 1818) was Grand Duke of Baden from 11 June 1811 until his death in 1818. He was born in Karlsruhe. Life His father was Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden, the heir to t ...

, with Princess

Stéphanie de Beauharnais Stéphanie, Grand Duchess of Baden (Stéphanie Louise Adrienne de Beauharnais; 28 August 1789 – 29 January 1860) was a French princess and the Grand Duchess consort of Baden by marriage to Karl, Grand Duke of Baden. Biography Early life Born in ...

, niece of the Empress Josephine. Talleyrand befriended him and arranged for him to marry Mlle. de Brignoles, one of the ladies of the Empress. After the Treaty of Vienna in 1809, Dalberg was naturalized as a French citizen and charged with negotiating

's marriage with

Marie Louise of Austria french: Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Françoise-Thérèse-Josèphe-Lucie it, Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of ...

. On 14 April 1810, he was created a duke of the Empire as ''duc de Dalberg''. He was made a Councilor of State on 14 October 1810, with a large endowment. When Talleyrand was disgraced, he also fell from favor.

Bourbon Restoration

After Napoleon was defeated, Dalberg and Talleyrand both joined the French provisional government of 1814, and both assisted at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. On 22 July 1814, King

Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

gave Dalberg the Grand Cordon of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. Dalberg left France during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

, when Napoleon returned from exile, and he returned after the second Bourbon Restoration. On 17 August 1815, he was made a

Peer of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

and Minister of State. On 26 January 1816, he was appointed ambassador to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. In the chamber of peers, he showed himself in favor of the

Charter of 1814 The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in form of royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before he ...

. Towards the end of the Restoration, he retired to his castle, Schloss Herrnsheim, where he died on 27 April 1833. His daughter, Marie Louise de Dalberg (1813–1860), married Sir Ferdinand Acton, 7th Baronet, who assumed the additional surname of Dalberg. After Sir Ferdinand's death in 1837, she married Granville Leveson-Gower (who became the 2nd

Earl Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...

in 1846).

Works

*''Remarques sur les émigrés et leurs droits à l'occasion de leur bannissement de nos provinces'' *''Documents historiques sur la mort du duc d'Enghien'' *''Considérations sur le projet d'une alliance entre l'Autriche et la Suisse'' (unpublished) *''Mémoire sur le Palatinat'' (unpublished)

References

Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalberg, Emmerich Joseph Wolfgang Heribert de 1773 births 1833 deaths 1 State ministers of France D