Karl August von Hardenberg held public office at a time when the terms of that office were themselves being contested.
The record lists Karl August von Hardenberg as Chancellor of Prussia.
Karl August von Hardenberg was born at Essenrode in 1750. His recorded nationality is Electorate of Hanover. He was educated at University of Göttingen.
Revolution and constitution-writing defined this period; the question of who counts as a citizen was opened and only partly answered.
The record of office reads: list of foreign ministers of Prussia (1804–1806) and State Chancellor of Prussia (1810–1822).
He is described as diplomat, statesperson and politician.
Power is judged twice: once by contemporaries who felt it, and again by historians who did not.
Formal honours included the Order of the Black Eagle, Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class, Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky and Order of St. Andrew.
That the career was made in Electorate of Hanover is not incidental: the institutions available, the franchise, and the constraints of the moment all shaped what could be attempted.
Karl August von Hardenberg died in 1822, aged 72. The assessment continues, as it does for anyone who held power - which is the ordinary fate of a political life.
Achievements
- list of foreign ministers of Prussia (1804–1806)
- State Chancellor of Prussia (1810–1822)
- Order of the Black Eagle
- Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class
- Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky
- Order of St. Andrew
- Educated at University of Göttingen
