Adam Jerzy Czartoryski

Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire

14 January 1770 Warsaw, Poland

15 July 1861(1861-07-15) (91) Montfermeil, France

1804–1806

Polish nobleman, statesman, diplomat and author (1770-1861) Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (Polish pronunciation:  ; Lithuanian: Аdomas Jurgis Čartoriskis; 14 January 1770 – 15 July 1861), in English known as Adam George Czartoryski, was a Polish nobleman, statesman, diplomat and author. The son of a wealthy prince, he began his political career as a foreign minister to the Russian Tsar Alexander I after Poland was partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria. He later became a leader of the Polish government in exile and a bitter opponent of Alexander's successor, Tsar Nicholas I. In exile, he advocated for the reestablishment of a sovereign Polish state, which also stimulated early Balkan and Belgian nationalism, and intensified their desire for independence. Czartoryski was a dedicated patron of arts and greatly contributed to the Czartoryski Collection. In 1798, he purchased one of Poland's most important national treasures – Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine, which he brought as a gift for his mother from Italy.