Eduard de Stoeckl

Eduard Andreevich Stoeckl ( _ru. Эдуард Андреевич Стекль) (Istanbul 1804 – Paris 1892) was a Russian diplomat best known today for having negotiated the American purchase of Alaska on behalf of the Russian government. He was son of Andreas von Stoeckl, Austrian diplomat in Istanbul, and Maria Pisani, daughter of Nicolas Pisani, Russian dragoman in Istanbul. He died in Paris on the 26th of January 1892. He occasionally used the bogus title of Baron.

In 1850 he became "chargé d'affaires" of the Russian embassy in Washington, and in 1854 held the post of minister, vacant after death of Aleksandr Bodisko. Like his predecessor, Stoeckl married an American woman, miss Elisa Howard.

Stoeckl established close friendly relations with many American officials and politicians, including the senator and the future Secretary of State William H. Seward, with whom he would later negotiate the Alaska purchase.

Stoeckl advocated the sale of Alaska (then known as Russian America) to the United States, asserting that this would allow the Russian government to concentrate its resources on Eastern Siberia, particularly the Amur River area. He insisted that by doing so, Russia would avoid any future conflict with the United States, viewing further US expansion in North America as inevitable.

Later life

Stoeckl signed the Alaska Treaty in March 1867. For successfully carrying out the negotiation, Tsar Alexander II rewarded him with 25,000 dollars and an annual pension of 6000 dollars.

Due to worsening health, Stoeckl resigned in 1869. He spent the final years of his life in France and died in Paris.

Bibliography

* Marie de Testa & Antoine Gautier, "Le diplomate russe Edouard de Stoeckl (ca 1805-1892) et la cession de l'Alaska aux Etats-Unis", in Drogmans et diplomates européens auprès de la Porte ottomane, éditions ISIS, Istanbul, 2003, pp. 463-469.