Joseph Maria Ernst Christian Wilhelm von Radowitz (6 February 1797 – 25 December 1853) was a conservative

Prussia 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 em ...

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and

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famous for his proposal to unify

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under Prussian leadership by means of a negotiated agreement among the reigning German princes.

Early years

Radowitz was born to

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nobility in

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, in Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. His family being of Serb-Hungarian origin. He received a military education in

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and fought in

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's army. As a young

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, Radowitz was wounded and taken prisoner at the

battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

(1813), subsequently entered the Hanoverian service, and in 1823 that of

. His promotion was rapid, and in 1830 he became chief of the general staff of the

Prussian envoy

In 1836, Radowitz went as Prussian military

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to the federal

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, and in 1842 was appointed envoy to the courts of

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and

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. He had early become an intimate friend of the crown prince (afterwards King

Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

), and the Prussian constitution of February 1847 was an attempt to realize the ideas put forward by him in his ''Gespräche aus den Gegenwart der Staat und Kirche'', published under the pseudonym "Waldheim" in 1846.

Promoting Prussian unionist policy

In November 1847 and March 1848 Radowitz was sent by Frederick William to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to attempt to arrange common action for the reconstruction 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 ...

. In the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt Parliament (german: Frankfurter Nationalversammlung, literally ''Frankfurt National Assembly'') was the first freely elected parliament for all German states, including the German-populated areas of Austria-Hungary, elected on 1 Ma ...

he was leader of the conservative Right; and, after its break-up, he was zealous in promoting the Unionist policy of Prussia, which he defended both in the Prussian diet and in the

Erfurt parliament The Erfurt Union (german: Erfurter Union) was a short-lived union of German states under a federation, proposed by the Kingdom of Prussia at Erfurt, for which the Erfurt Union Parliament (''Erfurter Unionsparlament''), lasting from March 20 to ...

Prussian foreign minister

He was practically responsible for the foreign policy of Prussia from May 1848 onwards, and on 27 September 1851 he was appointed minister of foreign affairs. He resigned, however, on 2 November, owing to the king's refusal to settle the difficulties with the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

by an appeal to arms.

Literary pursuits

In August 1852, he was appointed director of military education, but the rest of his life was devoted mainly to literary pursuits. Radowitz published, in addition to several political treatises, ''Ikonographie der Heiligen, im Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte'' (

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, 1834) and ''Devisen und Mottos des spätern Mittelalters'' (ii., 1850). His ''Gesammelte Schriften'' were published in 5 vols. at Berlin, 1852–53.

Death

Radowitz died on 25 December 1853 in Berlin.

Orders and decorations

Sources

*Josef von Radowitz. ''Nachgelassene Briefe und Aufzeichnungen zur Geschichte der Jahre 1848-1853''. W. Moring (ed.) (1922).

References

;Attribution * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radowitz, Joseph Maria von 1797 births 1853 deaths Lieutenant generals of Prussia Prussian politicians German untitled nobility German military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from the Duchy of Brunswick Members of the Frankfurt Parliament Foreign ministers of Prussia Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class