Karl Ludwig, Count of Ficquelmont (; ; 23 March 1777 – 7 April 1857) was an Austrian aristocrat, statesman and Field marshal of the Austrian Imperial army of French noble origin.
Biography
French nobleman
He was born Gabriel-Charles-Louis-Bonnaventure, Count de Ficquelmont at the Castle of Dieuze, in his family's estate in the present-day French département of Moselle. A member of a noble family from Lorraine dating back to the 14th century (House of Ficquelmont), he was introduced to King Louis XVI at Versailles in 1789.
Only a few months later, the French Revolution started. His family, as aristocrats, were targeted by the Revolution; several of his relatives were beheaded and many of their estates were confiscated during the Terreur era. Ficquelmont chose to join the "Army of the Princes" fighting against revolutionary France.
Austrian military
He eventually entered the military service of the Habsburg monarchy in 1793. Ficquelmont participated in all Austrian campaigns in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was regarded as a brilliant military officer. In 1809, he rose to the rank of Oberst and was appointed chief of staff of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este. In 1811 and 1812, he led troops in Spain, where his victories attracted the attention of Emperor Napoleon I, who unsuccessfully tried to recruit him. He was then elevated to the rank of Generalmajor in 1814 and received the capitulation of Lyon a few months later.
In the following decades, Ficquelmont continued his rise in the imperial Austrian military, achieving the following promotions: 1830: Feldmarschallleutnant 1831: General of the Dragoons 1840-1848: Minister of the State and conferences, in charge of the Imperial Army 1843: Generalfeldmarschall
Austrian diplomat
In 1815, thanks to his credentials as a gifted military officer loyal to the Habsburgs, Ficquelmont was approached to represent Austria as a diplomat.
As the War of the Sixth Coalition ended, he was sent to Stockholm as the Austrian Ambassador Extraordinary to Sweden. His mission was to smooth relations between Austria and the newly elected heir to the Swedish throne and former French General Bernadotte in order to maintain him within the coalition during the progressing towards the Congress of Vienna. The mission was a success, launching Ficquelmont's diplomatic career.
After the fall of Napoleon, Italy was once again the key sphere of influence of the Austrian Empire, which intended to exert control over its many states. In 1820, Ficquelmont was appointed Ambassador to Tuscany and Lucca, in order to increase Austrian influence over Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany. He met his future wife, Russian countess Dorothea von Tiesenhaussen, while in Florence.
In 1821 he was appointed ambassador plenipotentiary to the Naples in the midst of the political crisis that followed the 1820 Carbonari Revolution. In July 1820 a military revolt broke out in Naples, forcing their king into signing a constitution based on the model of the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The Holy Alliance feared the revolt might spread to other Italian states and turn into a general European conflagration, so Austria sent an army to march into Naples to restore order. The Austrians defeated the Neapolitans at Rieti (7 March 1821) and entered Naples. Ficquelmont was sent to manage the following occupation. He soon gained enormous influence over king Ferdinand I and Neapolitan elites and practically administrated the kingdom, ensuring Austria's grasp over its domestic and foreign policies. While in Naples, Ficquelmont was recognized as Austria's main diplomatic asset for his political subtlety as well as his social skills, "Count de Ficquelmont's personality is made of Germanic seriousness, Italian subtlety but, above all, it is made of the prodigious 18th century French nobility's wit"
In 1829, Ficquelmont was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to Russia. Ficquelmont's wife, countess Dorothea von Tiesenhausen, was the heiress of the prominent Tiesenhausen family as well as the granddaughter of Prince Kutuzov and became influential on the politics of Emperor Nicholas I. The Saltykov Mansion that was the Austrian Embassy had been described as a "place of wisdom and intelligence" and as "(...) the setting the two most illustrious salon of the period (1830s), reigned over by Ficquelmont's wife". Ficquelmont's and Dorothea's influence in Russia was long-lasting and as a sign of his appreciation, Emperor Nicolas I awarded him the Orders of St. Andrew, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Vladimir, and St. Anna.