born Oct. 26, 1757, Nassau an der Lahn, Nassau
died June 29, 1831, Schloss Cappenberg, Westphalia
Prussian statesman.
Born into the imperial nobility, he entered the civil service in 1780. As minister of economic affairs (1804–07) and chief minister (1807–08) to Frederick William III , he introduced wide-ranging reforms in administration, taxation, and the civil service that modernized the Prussian government. He abolished serfdom , reformed the laws on land ownership, and helped reorganize the military. Anticipating war with France, he was forced to resign under pressure from Napoleon (1808) and fled to Austria. As an adviser to Tsar Alexander I (1812–15), he negotiated the Russo-Prussian Treaty of Kalisz (1813) that formed the last European coalition against Napoleon.