Sir Andrew Mitchell (1708–1771) was a British diplomat noted for his service as envoy to the court of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

Early Career and Interests

Mitchell was the son of the Rev. William Mitchell, minister of

St Giles Saint Giles (, , , , ; 650 - 710), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 7th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly legendary. A ...

and King's chaplain and educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Leyden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Nethe ...

(1730–31), Paris (1731–32,) and Italy (1732–35). He then entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1734 to study law, where he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1738. He was made advocate in 1736. His legal and intellectual interests took him frequently abroad, and in 1735 he formed a close friendship with

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

in Paris. He took up a broad spectrum of intellectual pursuits that encompassed ancient and modern history, art, literature, and moral philosophy; in 1736 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

Diplomatic career

He served as under-secretary for Scotland from 1742 to 1746. He was a commissary in Brussels for negotiating a commercial agreement with Austria and the Netherlands from 1752 to 1755 and an envoy to Prussia from 1756 to June 1765 and from December 1765 to his death.

Envoy to Prussia

In May 1756, Mitchell arrived in Berlin, and was enthusiastically received by Frederick. Prior to this, antagonism had steadily been building between France and England over shipping and territory rights, and the British king, concerned with the exposure of his Hanoverian territories should war arise, wished to draw closer to Prussia. It was Mitchell's task to negotiate the Alliance and allay Frederick's fears of an Austro-Russian counter-alliance. Frederick, who resented the broken promises and secret diplomacy of the French court during the Silesian Wars, was amenable, and England remained his only steady ally throughout the Seven Years' War. Mitchell stayed with Frederick, recording his observations of the king at war in his journals, until his recall in 1764. He returned to Berlin two years later, having been knighted in the interim, and remained until his death in 1771. Though the relationship between Mitchell and Frederick had suffered from Frederick's dissatisfaction with English policy at the end of the war and Mitchell's disenchantment with Frederick's "impatience of contradiction", Frederick wrote in tribute that, "His talents and character had wholly gained my esteem and he retained it to the end of his days." Frederick wept openly at Mitchell's funeral procession.

Parliamentary career

He was elected at the 1747 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, and held the seat until the 1754 general election. He was elected as MP for Elgin Burghs at a by-election in January 1755,Stooks Smith, page 642 and held that seat until his death in 1771. He was created KB on 13 December 1765.

Private life

He had been married by his father at the age of 14 to a 10 year old heiress, his second cousin Barbara, the daughter and heiress of Thomas Mitchell of Thainstone, near Aberdeen. His wife died in childbirth in 1728. He lived at the old Thainstone House, before it was remodelled in 1840.

Writings

*''Memoirs and Papers of Sir Andrew Mitchell''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Andrew British people of the Seven Years' War British diplomats Fellows of the Royal Society 1708 births 1771 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath