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Baron of Thugut 1736-1818
Johann Amadeus de Paula, Baron
Thugut
Thugut was Johann Amadeus Franz de
Paula Freiherr (Baron) von Thugut, also called
Franz Maria von Thugut.
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Baron of Thugut
J.A. Ecker
Wiki |
Baron of Thugut was the
Minister of State for the Chancellery of Austria, an Austrian
statesman, politician, mediator, and diplomat. He also acted
as interpreter to the Austrian Court.
According to historian
Alan Palmer, Thugut was
a man of courage and determination.
Thugut's Family
and Roots
Thugut was born at Linz, which
is located in today's Upper Austria, into a middle-class
family.
The name Thugut had been
formerly Thunichtgut, the German difference between DoGood
and Don'tDoGood.
Thugut's Career
In 1752, Thugut was accepted at
the Oriental Academy at Vienna.
In 1754, Thugut was sent to
Constantinople (today's Istanbul) as assistant interpreter.
In 1766, he became official
interpreter and secretary at the chancellery at Vienna.
From 1769, he was Austria's
ambassador to Turkey. One of Thugut's biggest feats so far
became Turkey's ceding of Bukovina to Austria in 1774.
Map of the Austrian Dominions Since 1815
His career then brought him to Naples,
Versailles, and Berlin.
In 1780, he was sent to Warsaw
as ambassador.
From 1788 to 1790 Thugut was the
Commissioner of the principalities of Moldova and Wallachia.
From 1783 to 1787, he worked at
Paris, and afterwards at Brussels.
From March 27, 1793 to January
16, 1801, and stepping into the huge boots of
Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz,
the Austrian state chancellor until 1792, Thugut was Austrian foreign minister and political
leader during the
French Revolutionary Wars.
Thugut's
Politics
Thugut and the Prussians:
Baron Thugut was in general
anti-Prussian.
Thugut and the Revolution:
He was smart enough to recognize
that the
French
Revolution and its subsequent wars were not only a
physical threat to his Sovereign, but, even more importantly, an
ideological danger to his Empire.
Thugut and Metternich:
When the Metternichs came to
Vienna in late 1794, Thugut was not impressed. And here is more on
Klemens von Metternich.
See also
Treaty of Leoben and
Treaty of Campo Formio.
Thugut initiated the coalition
between Austria, England, and Russia against France.
His diplomatic performance at
the end of the
War of the Second Coalition,
which was fought 1798-1802, triggered Thugut's resignation in
1801. He was decried as a warmonger and had to pack his
bags.
In his letter to Thugut that got him fired, Emperor Francis
II wrote on January 1, 1801:
"All sections
of the people are unanimously of the opinion
that Your Excellency is holding up the
conclusions of peace, and will always hold
it up."
Count Cobenzl became his
official successor, unofficially sharing his
post with
Colloredo
and
Emperor Francis II
himself.
Thugut died at Vienna in 1818.
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