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

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

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

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and fought in

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's army. As a young

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in the

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, Radowitz was wounded and taken prisoner at the

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(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 diet at

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, and in 1842 was appointed envoy to the courts of

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and Nassau. He had early become an intimate friend of the crown prince (afterwards King Frederick William IV), 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

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to attempt to arrange common action for the reconstruction of the

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. In the

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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.

Prussian foreign minister

He was practically responsible for the foreign policy of Prussia from May 1848 onwards, and on 27 September 1850 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

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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.

Family

Radowitz married Countess Maria Auguste Karoline Luise von Voß (27 April 1807 – 1 October 1889) on May 23, 1828 in Berlin. They had five children: *Marie Luise Auguste Mathilde Christiane Gerhardine Albertine (1829–1834) *Julius Felix Joseph Maria Friedrich August Karl Wilhelm (born 1830) *Clemens Maria Ludwig Georg Hermann Leopold Alexis (1832–1890), Prussian general *Paul Maria Ludwig Eugen (born 1835) * Joseph Maria Friedrich (1839–1912), Prussian diplomat

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 Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class