Fabian Gotthard von Steinheil (russian: Фадде́й Фёдорович Ште́йнгель, tr. ; 14 October 1762 – 23 February 1831) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

who served as a Russian military officer and the Governor-General of Finland between 1810 and 1824. Steinheil was born in Hapsal, Estonia. His father's family was from region of

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the s ...

in Germany (where they had been burghers and officials of their hometowns); and his mother was from a cadet branch of the ancient Baltic House of Tiesenhausen, daughter of nobleman Fromhold Fabian Tiesenhausen, lord of Orina in Estonia. Stenheil's uncle and father had received a baronial title from the imperial authorities. Fabian von Steinheil became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the Imperial Russian Army in 1782. He took part in the war in Finland in 1788 and in 1791-92 he worked with construction of fortifications in

Old Finland Old Finland ( fi, Vanha Suomi; rus, Ста́рая Финля́ндия, r=Staraya Finlyandiya; sv, Gamla Finland) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and in the Russo-Swedi ...

, after which he served in military cartography. He became a Major General in 1789 and took part in the campaigns in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in 1806-1807 and Poland in 1805-1807. He became a Lieutenant General in 1807 and commanded the Russian troops on Åland in 1809 during the Finnish War. In 1810 he was appointed as the Governor-General of Finland, to succeed Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly. He was well regarded by the Finnish population and was made a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

in 1812. In 1813 he took part in the war against Napoleon as the commander of an army in

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...

and Livonia, and was succeeded as Governor-General by the influential Count

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (russian: Граф Густав-Маврикий Максимович Армфельт, tr, ; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish- Swedish-Russian courtier and diplomat. In Finland, he is considered one ...

. However, due to Armfelt's fragile health, Steinheil soon returned to the post of Governor-General which he held to 1824, being then succeeded by Count

Arseniy Zakrevskiy Count Arseny Andreyevich Zakryevsky (russian: Граф Арсе́ний Андре́евич Закре́вский; September 24, 1783 or 1786 in Tver Governorate – January 23, 1865 in Florence) was a Russian statesman and Minister of the ...

. He remained in Finland and died in Helsinki in 1831.

Honours and awards

* Knight of the

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

* Order of Saint Anna, 1st class *

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptiz ...

, 2nd class *

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

, 3rd class * Order of St. George, 4th class * Order of the Red Eagle 1st Class , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinheil, Fabian 1762 births 1831 deaths Baltic-German people Governors of the Grand Duchy of Finland Imperial Russian Army generals People from the Governorate of Estonia Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree