Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein

Life and work

In 1785 he served as Prussian ambassador to several courts, and later toured England to research commercial and mining affairs.^[3] He was appointed Kammerdirektor in 1787 and later became supreme president of Westphalian chambers.^[1] He took office as minister of state for trade in 1804, introducing reforms that abolished restrictions on internal trade.^[2] Stein issued the October Edict of 1807, which abolished serfdom in Prussia.^[4]

He also issued a municipal reform measure in November 1808 granting local self-government to towns.^[1] He later served the Allies by superintending the administration of liberated territories after the Battle of Leipzig.^[1] Stein made the Ruhr river navigable by canalization, which became a key outlet for regional coal, and also enhanced navigation on the Weser river.^[1] Frederick William III of Prussia, depressed by the Treaty of Tilsit's terms, summoned Stein to office on 8 October 1807 and gave him extensive authority.^[1]

What the cited sources add

The Oxford Handbook of the History of Nationalism states that the reform efforts were based on the conviction that the most talented people should be involved in government.^[4] The same source indicates that Stein developed this idea further in the Nassauer Denkschrift, which he wrote in June 1807.^[4]