Andreas Peter Bernstorff
| Andreas Peter Bernstorff | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Born |
28 August 1735 Hanover |
| Died | 21 June 1797 (aged 61) |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Occupation | minister, diplomat |
Andreas Peter Bernstorff (28 August 1735 – 21 June 1797), also known as Andreas Peter Graf von Bernstorff, was a Danish statesman and politician. He was a Danish minister, father of Christian Günther von Bernstorff, and a guardian of civil and political liberty.
Bernstorff was born in Hanover as a nephew of the statesman Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, whose position probably introduced him to Danish politics. After a grand European tour, he joined the Danish state service, first as a courtier and then from 1760 as a state official, both in foreign political and financial matters. His career was slow but steady. During the 1760s, he placed himself as an able but not outstanding official closely connected to his uncle. In the Struensee years from 1770-71, he was dismissed, but soon he was recalled by the new regime of Ove Høegh-Guldberg.
In 1773, Bernstorff was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and his real Danish career began. He carried through the final solution of the Gottorp question through an exchange of territory with the Russian imperial family (in the 1773 Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo) and a Russian alliance. In general he supported a pro-Russian (but independent) line trying to hold Sweden in check and avoiding any conflict with England. He created an outstanding position for himself but also made many enemies within the government. This was partly due to his alleged willfulness and partly due to political rivalry. The difficult years during the American War of Independence strengthened his wishes of an “active neutrality”. In 1780 he concluded a League of Neutrality with Russia and Sweden, a great foreign political triumph. At the same time he concluded a special agreement with England that secured Danish trade. A deep but temporary Russian dissatisfaction with the treaty, however, was exploited by his Danish rivals, and in November 1780, he was dismissed by Guldberg.
...
Wikipedia