Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz

…the plans of Count Friedrich Wilhelm Haugwitz—the first in a succession of remarkable men of intellect she was to draw into her council. In the face of the opposition of many noblemen, she managed to reduce drastically (except in Hungary) the powers of the various dominions’ estates, which had held…

Following the advice of Friedrich Wilhelm, Graf (count) von Haugwitz, a Silesian who had fled the Prussians in 1741, Maria Theresa proposed negotiating with each diet only every 10 years, setting the amount to be collected annually for an entire decade. The estates were generally not happy with the…