Camille de Briey

Camille de Briey (27 June 1800 - 3 June 1877) was a Belgian industrialist, politician and diplomat.[1][2][3]

Early life

Camille was born in Ruette, Virton, Belgium on 27 June 1799[4] to Louis Briey and Anne de Pouilly. He received his secondary education at the Imperial College of Metz (now the Lycée Fabert). After graduating, he spent time at the court of Saxe-Coburg with his cousin Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly. On 29 September 1829 he married Caroline Beauffort. After the July Revolution and the fall of the House of Bourbon in 1830, Camille moved to Austria but returned to Belgium in 1832 after Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was proclaimed king.

Industrial career

For a few years, Camille attempted to revive the field of metallurgy in the province of Luxembourg by buying the Perrard institutions in Virton, in 1835.

Political/diplomatic career

In 1838, Camille delegated the management of his business to a Frenchman and entered politics. In 1839, he was elected as senator and held the position until 1848. In 1841, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance in the cabinet of Jean-Baptiste Nothomb.[1][3]

He then embarked on a diplomatic career and became Minister of Belgium in Russia[5] (from 1853 he was the first Belgian minister plenipotentiary in Russia) and Germany, spending ten years at the Diet of Frankfurt.

He was instrumental in the construction of the Château de Laclaireau.[6]

Honours

References

  1. ^ a b Delcorde, Raoul (2012). Belgian diplomats. Editions Mardaga. p. 33. ISBN 978-2804700584. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  2. ^ Durham, David I. (2008). A Southern Moderate in Radical Times: Henry Washington Hilliard, 1808-1892. Louisiana State University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0807134221. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Rooney, John W. (1969). Belgian-American Diplomatic and Consular Relations 1830-1850: A Study in American Foreign Policy in Mid-nineteenth Century, Volume 41. Bureaux du Recueil, Bibliothèque de l'Université. pp. 35–121. ISBN 9782874633843. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  4. ^ Institut archéologique du Luxembourg, Arlon, Belgium (1900). Annales de l'Institut archéologique du Luxembourg, Volumes 35-36. p. 38. Retrieved September 2, 2016.{cite book}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Belien, Paul (2012). A Throne in Brussels: Britain, the Saxe-Coburgs and the Belgianisation of Europe. Andrews UK. p. 66. ISBN 978-1845406417. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  6. ^ "Le château de Laclaireau". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  7. ^ a b Le livre d'or de l'ordre de Léopold et de la croix de fer, Volume 1 /Ferdinand Veldekens

Bibliography

  • Raynald DE BRIEY, Un homme politique du XIXe siècle, le comte Camille de Briey, Virton, 1967.
  • Oscar COOMANS DE BRACHÈNE, État présent de la noblesse belge, Annuaire 1985, Brussel, 1985.
  • Jean-Luc DE PAEPE & Christiane RAINDORF-GERARD (red.), Le Parlement belge, 1831-1894. Données biographiques, Brussel, 1996.
  • Éric BURGRAFF, Portraits de famille (IV) : La famille de Briey, le pouvoir des maîtres de forges – Porter le nom de Briey aujourd'hui – Des bois, des châteaux et quelques successions – Camille, ministre et diplomate, in: Le Soir, Brussel, 27/09/1999