Karl Friedrich von Savigny
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Karl Friedrich von Savigny (19 September 1814 – 11 February 1875) was a
Prussian 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 e ...
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 ...
,
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
, and a leading member of the Centre Party. His father was the
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
Friedrich Carl von Savigny Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian. Early life and education Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
, who was then privy councillor of the court of appeals, member of the Prussian council of State, and professor at the
University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
, and his mother was Kunigunde Brentano, sister of the poet
Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...
. The father was a Protestant, but the mother was a Catholic, and the children were allowed to follow the religion of the mother. Karl Friedrich was first taught at home, then attended the French Gymnasium at Berlin, the Collegium Romanum at Rome, and the Collegium Sebastianum at Naples. He studied law at Berlin, Munich, and Paris. In 1836 he became an auscultator at Berlin; in 1837 he was a referendar in the court at Aachen, in 1840 secretary of legation at London and Dresden, in 1842 at Lisbon, in 1848 at London. In 1849 he was councillor of legations and member of the ministry of foreign affairs, and in 1850 ambassador at Karlsruhe. While here he was able to win over the Government of Baden for the Prussian policy, and, as Bismarck testified, "by cautious and tactful bearing to win a commanding position at Karlsruhe for the Prussian government." From 1859 Karl Friedrich was Prussian ambassador at
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, from 1862 at
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, and from 1864 he was minister with full powers at the Diet of the German Confederation at Frankfort. In 1866 he offered at the Diet the Prussian motion for the reform of the
German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
, and when it was rejected on 14 June, 1866, he declared the withdrawal of Prussia, upon which the Austro-Prussian war began. Later in connection with Bismarck he was plenipotentiary in making a treaty of peace with the states of southern Germany and Saxony. He was the presiding officer of the government conferences for the drafting of a constitution for the North German Confederation, and was a plenipotentiary at the Reichstag which decided the constitution. Thus he performed important services in national affairs. In 1868 he retired partially, and in 1871 entirely, from government positions in order to become one of the parliamentary leaders of the Catholics. From 1867 he was a member of the Lower House of the Prussian Diet, from 1868 a member of the Lower House of the Diet of the North German Confederation, and later of the German Reichstag, or Parliament of the German Empire. In 1871 he took part in the founding of the Centre Party. He was not particularly distinguished as a speaker, but his knowledge, distinguished personality, and connections were of much benefit to the Catholic cause. He believed that "laws are not made but found".


References

* 1814 births 1875 deaths Centre Party (Germany) politicians German Roman Catholics Lorraine nobility Politicians from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Ambassadors of Prussia Prussian politicians Members of the Reichstag of the German Empire 19th-century diplomats {{Germany-politician-stub