Prince Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł (; 1744–1831) was a Polish nobleman, politician, diplomat and member of the Polish–Lithuanian

Radziwiłł family The House of Radziwiłł (; ; ; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian origin, and one of the most powerful magnate families originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Pa ...

. He was an '' ordynat'' of Kleck, Olyka and Niasvizh, Great Sword-bearer of Lithuania from 1771,

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

from 1775,

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

from 1790, '' starost'' grabowski, komorowski, kraszewicki, and miksztadzki. He also held a position of

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

during the Partition Sejm, together with Adam Poniński. He was a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (awarded on 7 September 1773) and a holder of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

. His paternal great-grandfather was

Dominik Mikołaj Radziwiłł Prince Dominik Mikołaj Radziwiłł (; 1643–1697) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic) and politician. He was son of Court and Grand Marshal Aleksander Ludwik Radziwiłł and Princess Lucrezia ...

. He was married to Helena Przeździecka from 26 April 1771, their son was

Antoni Radziwiłł Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł (; 13 June 1775 – 7 April 1833) was a Polish and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian szlachta, noble, magnate, aristocrat, musician, and politician. Initially a hereditary Duke of Nesvizh, Nieśwież and Olyka, Oł ...

Biography

Born into the House of Radziwiłł, the second son of Prince Marcin Mikołaj Radziwiłł (1705-1782) and his second wife, Marta Trembicka (d. 1812), he was neglected until his father was incapacitated (which took place in 1748). His brother was the voivode Józef Mikołaj Radziwiłł. He received a thorough education and married Helena Przezdziecka, known for her affair with King Stanisław August. He was the owner of numerous goods, he became famous as a good farmer. During his rule, the ponds in the Przygodzice estates located near

Ostrów Wielkopolski Ostrów Wielkopolski () (often abbreviated ''Ostrów Wlkp.'', formerly called simply ''Ostrów'', , Latin: ''Ostrovia'') is a city in west-central Poland with 70,982 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostr ...

became one of the most significant in Poland and Europe. In Nieborów, he amassed a considerable collection of works of art, including paintings by

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid sur ...

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

Nicolas Lancret Nicolas Lancret (; 22 January 1690 – 14 September 1743) was a List of French artists, French painter. Born in Paris, he was a brilliant depicter of light comedy which reflected the tastes and manners of French society during the Régence, regen ...

, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. He became the marshal of Brześć in the Radom Confederation. In the attachment to the telegram of October 2 of 1767, to the president of the College of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, Nikita Panin, the Russian envoy described him as the person responsible for the implementation of Russian plans at the Sejm of 1767, and the envoy of the Brest-Litovsk district to the Sejm of 1767. On October 23 of 1767, he joined the delegation of the Sejm, selected under the pressure of the Russian envoy Nikolai Repnin, established in order to define the system of the Republic of Poland. Marshal of the confederation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania established at the Partition Seym in Warsaw in 1773. As an MP in Brzesko-Lithuania, he was part of the delegation selected under the pressure of diplomats of the three partitioning countries, which was to carry out the partition. On September 18, 1773, he signed the treaties of assignment by the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth of lands seized by Russia, Prussia and Austria in the first partition of Poland. Member of Andrzej Mokronowski's confederation in 1776. Member of the Military Department of the Perpetual Council in 1783. He signed the documents sanctioning the partitions in 1793 at the last partition parliament. He became a member of the Lithuanian Distribution Commission , established to liquidate the assets of the Jesuit order dissolved in the Republic of Poland. In the years 1773-1775, he collected 1,000 red zlotys a month from the common treasury of three partitioning manors. He was a member of the confederation of the Four-Year Sejm. He was included in the list of deputies and senators of the Russian envoy Yakov Bulgakov in 1792, which contained a list of people whom the Russians could count on in reconfederation and the overthrow of the work on May 3. At the Grodno Seym in 1793, he was appointed by King Stanisław August Poniatowski as a member of the deputation for dealings with the Russian envoy Jakob Sievers. On July 22, 1793, he signed a treaty of assignment by the Republic of lands seized by Russia in the Second Partition of Poland. The Grodno Seym (1793) nominated him to the Permanent Council and the Commission of National Education. In 1773 he was made a knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus. With the money he received from Russia for signing the partition acts, he bought the palace in Nieborów together with the surrounding land in 1774. Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz wrote about Michał that he was ''in the last way selfish, a bad citizen, inactive''. In 1816, he also purchased the Królikarnia Palace. In 1812 he joined the General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland. He had five sons, including Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł and Michał Gedeon Radziwiłł , and three daughters. He died in Warsaw at the age of 87. He was buried in Nieborów He was probably the last living secular senator of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Decorated with the Order of the White Eagle (1773), the Order of Saint Stanislaus (1773), the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle and the Order of the Red Eagle, the Bavarian Order of Saint Hubert , Knight of Malta from 1797

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Michal Hieronim Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1744 births 1831 deaths Michal Hieronim Radziwill Voivode of Vilnius Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)