About Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust
Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust (German: Friedrich Ferdinand Graf von Beust; 13 January 1809 – 24 October 1886) was a German and Austrian statesman. As an opponent of Otto von Bismarck, he attempted to conclude a common policy of the German middle states between Austria and Prussia. == Birth and education == Beust was born in Dresden, where his father held office in the Saxon court. He was descended from a noble family which had originally sprung from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and descended from Joachim von Beust (1522–1597). After studying at Leipzig and Göttingen he entered the Saxon public service. == Political career == His initial political career was as a diplomat and politician in Saxony. In 1836 he was made secretary of legation at Berlin, and afterwards held appointments at Paris, Munich, and London. In March 1848 he was summoned to Dresden to take the office of foreign minister, but in consequence of the outbreak of the revolution was not appointed. In May he was appointed Saxon envoy at Berlin, and in February 1849 was again summoned to Dresden, and this time appointed minister of state and of foreign affairs. He held that office till 1866, when he was summoned by Franz Josef I to the Imperial Court of Austria.
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