Charles-Frédéric Reinhard Karl Friedrich Reinhard |
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French Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 20 July 1799 – 22 November 1799 |
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Preceded by | Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord |
Succeeded by | Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord |
Personal details | |
Born | 2 October 1761 Schorndorf |
Died |
25 December 1837 (aged 76) Paris |
Spouse(s) | Christine Reimarus |
Occupation | diplomat, essayist |
Charles-Frédéric, comte Reinhard (born Karl Friedrich Reinhard; 2 October 1761 – 25 December 1837) was a Württembergian-born French diplomat, essayist, and politician who briefly served as the Consulate's Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1799. A Girondist during the early stages of the French Revolution, he was dispatched to several countries before and after his ministerial mandate. In 1806-1807, he was appointed Consul and Resident to Moldavia, and subsequently arrested by the Russian Empire for one year. Reinhard was promoted under the Bourbon Restoration governments, which he represented to the German Confederation, and continued his political career under the July Monarchy.
Born in Schorndorf (presently in Baden-Württemberg, Germany), he was the son of a Protestant minister. He studied Theology at the University of Tübingen and met with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (the two corresponded for a period).
Reinhard moved to Bordeaux in 1787, having been employed as tutor by a Huguenot family, and soon became an acquaintance of future Girondist leaders. After the Revolution broke out, he asked to be naturalized, joined the Girondist club and, under the Legislative Assembly, moved to Paris, where he entered the diplomatic service. He was first detached as Legation Secretary to the Kingdom of Great Britain, under Ambassador Talleyrand, who became his mentor and political ally. With support from the Girondists, the National Convention appointed him First Secretary to the French Embassy in the Kingdom of Sicily.