Magnus Maximilian Baron von Alopaeus (21 January 1748 – 16 May 1822) (russian: Алопеус Максим Максимович, ''Alopeus Maksim Maksimovich'') was a Finland-Swedish

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 ...

Biography

Maximilian was born at

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

and educated at

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city and former Capital city, capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura (Archipelago Sea), Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland, Finland Proper ...

, afterwards at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

, was intended for the ecclesiastical profession, but his employment as secretary by Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Russian ambassador at the Swedish court, was the first step in a gradual rise through the political ranks. In 1783,

Alopaeus 150px, Coat of arms of Finnish Alopaeus family Alopaeus (sometimes transliterated as Alopeus) is the name of a Finnish noble family, originating from Vyborg. Some family members have fennicized the name to Kettunen or Tuomas-Kettunen. Members of th ...

was appointed resident-minister at the court of the Bishop of Lübeck, where he maintained the correspondence between

Tsesarevich Tsesarevich (russian: Цесаревич, ) was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with "tsarevich", which is a dis ...

Paul and Frederick II. In 1789, Alopaeus was sent to Berlin where he stayed for 6 years, gained favor from Frederick William II, and secured the signing of the allied treaty between Russia and Prussia.Алопеусы (Д.М., М.М.)
. ''Русский Биографический Словарь'' ussian Biographical Dictionary URL accessed 2006-09-21. He was named minister

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

at the court of Berlin, by the Empress Catherine, in 1790. In 1795, Prussia having withdrawn from the coalition by the Treaty of Basel, he remonstrated; and in 1796, he left Berlin, to which court he did not return till 1802. In 1802, he was appointed envoy at the Prussian court. The rapprochement of Russia and Prussia in 1806 to a considerable degree is due to his work. In 1807, he was sent to London as an ambassador, but the

peace of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when t ...

put his mission to an end. Alopaeus participated in the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. He retired from diplomacy in 1820, to Frankfort-on-the-Main, where he lived till his death. He is said to have left very valuable manuscript memoirs. He was followed on his diplomatic career by his younger brother

David Alopaeus Count Frans David Alopaeus (also ''Alopeus'') (December 19, 1769 in Vyborg – June 13, 1831 in Berlin) was an Imperial Russian diplomat. Biography Born into the Finnish noble Alopaeus family, he followed his older brother Maximilian v ...

. His daughter Natalie (1796-1823) was married with

Konstantin von Benckendorff Konstantin von Benckendorff (russian: Константин Христофорович Бенкендорф, ''Konstantin Khristoforovich Benkendorf''; 31 January 1785 – 6 August 1828) was a Baltic German general and diplomat. Life and career K ...

.Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften, Teil 2, Estland, Bd. 3: Görlitz, 1930
s.32
/ref>

Books

*Rede Ihrer Majestät der glorwürdigst regierenden Kaiserin von Russland Catharinen der Zweyten bey seiner Aufnahme, als Beysitzer in die Königliche Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Göttingen den 24ten September, 1768 devotest gewidmet von Magnus Alopäus aus Wiburg, Beysitzern des Königl. Historichen Instituts., Göttingen, gedruckt bey Johann Albrecht Barmeier, 1768
Libris.se

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alopaeus, Maximilian 1748 births 1822 deaths Diplomats from Vyborg Diplomats of the Russian Empire Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Prussia Ambassadors of Russia to Sweden Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom 18th-century diplomats of the Russian Empire 19th-century diplomats of the Russian Empire Finnish expatriates in Germany Finnish expatriates in Sweden Finnish expatriates in the United Kingdom Finnish people from the Russian Empire Swedish-speaking Finns

Biography

Books

See also

References