Joseph Ritter

Joseph Ritter (3 May 1701 - 19 Augustus 1755) was a Brunanter statesman and diplomat. He was Chief Minister to King Pieter I from 1744-1755.

Biography
Born in Grijzestad to Prussian immigrants to Brunant, his father was a merchant and was, as one of the richest inhabitants of the city, closely involved with the city government. His mother was the heiress of a rich noble family. Joseph studied at the Grijzestad University, but also traveled abroad to study diplomacy at the Leipzig University and to make a Grand Tour across Europe in the early 1730s.

In 1733, Ritter returned to Brunant. He was then sent to Portugal (1733-1735) and Spain (1735-1738) as a special envoy. He was appointed Brunant's ambassador to Spain in 1738 and retained this post until 1740. He disapproved Brunant's participation in the War of the Austrian Succession, which began in 1740. King Marten I was forced to send troops to fight on the Spanish side because of the Brunanter-Spanish alliance that has existed since the Treaty of Madrid (1534). Ritter became an active opponent of the pro-Spanish Chief Minister Julian Gonia. A leader of the liberal politicians, the king sent Ritter, to keep him away from the political affairs in Brunant, as a diplomatic delegate to Saxony (1741-1742) and Hesse-Kassel (1742-1744).

In 1744, in the middle of the war, the king died and was succeeded by his son Pieter, who had Ritter returned from diplomatic service. The new king appointed him as Chief Minister. Ritter sought ties with Great Britain and Prussia, but he placed Brunant in a neutral position for the rest of the war. In 1749, the king repudiated the Treaty of Madrid, thus formally ending the Brunanter-Spanish alliance. Ritter is seen as the founder of the Amici novi period of diplomatic relations.

He died in 1755, after eleven years of advisory to the king. Charles Elteman succeeded him as Chief Minister and led Brunant through the Franco-Brunanter War (1756-1759).