Karl Wilhelm Reichsgraf Finck von Finckenstein (11 February 1714 in Berlin; 3 January 1800 in Berlin) was a Count of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, a Prussian diplomat, and later Prime Minister of Prussia.
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Family
He was the son of Count Albrecht Konrad Finck von Finckenstein, who was a field marshal and also governor of the Crown Prince of Prussia, the future King Frederick II. His mother was Sophie Henrietta Susanne Gilgenburg (1723-1762). Finckenstein studied in Geneva, after which he travelled in France and the Low Countries. In 1735 he was appointed to the Prussian diplomatic service.
Military career
Frederick II, who became king in 1740, knew Finckenstein well from his own childhood and had great confidence in him. In 1740 Frederick sent him as minister to Sweden, then to Denmark, and in 1742 to Great Britain. In 1744 he was sent again to Sweden, when Frederick's sister Louisa Ulrika married Adolf Frederick of Sweden. In 1747, Finckenstein was made a Minister of state, and became envoy to Russia.
He returned to Prussia in 1749, where he became a Cabinet Minister and henceforth the most trusted advisor to the King.
During the Seven Years' War, Frederick issued a secret decree on 10 January 1757, "in the case of his death or capture", which appointed Finckenstein as Regent of Prussia in that event.