Family and Friends --Besenval -- Biography

Baron Johann Viktor Besenval von Brunnstatt was born in Solothurn, Switzerland in 1671. After attending the Jesuit school there he became a member of the elite Swiss Guard. In 1707 he became the French ambassador extraordinary to the court of Charles XII of Sweden, in 1709 to the court of Stanislaus I Leszczynski, King of Poland. After Stanislaus I was deposed he became the Maréchal de camp, and from 1713 to 1721 he was the French ambassador extraordinary to the court of August II, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. He died in Paris in 1736.