Friedrich Wilhelm von Arnim-Boitzenburg

Friedrich Wilhelm von Arnim-Boitzenburg (31 December 1739 – 21 January 1801) was a Prussian civil servant and Minister of War.

Early life
Arnim was born 31 December 1739 in Berlin into the noble Arnim family. He was the only child of Abraham Wilhelm von Arnim-Boitzenburg (1712–1761), and Anna Elisabeth von der Schulenburg (eldest daughter of Adolph Friedrich von der Schulenburg). His paternal grandfather was Georg Dietloff von Arnim-Boitzenburg.

Career
After studying law in Göttingen, he began his career in the Prussian civil service as a councilor at the Chamber Court in Berlin. In 1764, he became a councilor and assessor at the Uckermark Higher Court, and in 1769 he became a secret judicial councilor and director of the Pupillary college and the Uckermark Higher Court, which he presided over until 1780. In 1786 he was appointed real secret budget, war and directing minister and vice president of the general directorate.

Arnim was raised to the hereditary Prussian count on 2 October 1786 by King Frederick William II. He was also a Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle.

He became president of the forestry department and chief hunter. In these two offices he made lasting contributions to the promotion of forestry and agriculture in Prussia. From 1786 to 1798 he was Royal Prussian Minister of State and War. In 1798 he took his leave for health reasons.

Personal life
In 1764 Arnim was married to Baroness Freda Antoinette von Cramm (1747–1817), a daughter of Baron Franz Jakob von Cramm and Anna Magdalena Wilhelmine von Krosigk. Together, they were the parents of two children:


 * Johann Erdmann von Arnim(1766–1766), who died young.
 * Friedrich Abraham Wilhelm von Arnim (1767–1812), who married Georgine Charlotte Auguste von Wallmoden-Gimborn, a daughter of Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn (himself an illegitimate son of King George II of Great Britain by his mistress Amalie von Wallmoden).

Arnim died in Berlin on 21 January 1801.