Peter Josef Zeltner

Peter Josef Zeltner (30 November 1765 – 22 January 1830) was a Swiss military officer, politician, and diplomat, recognized as Switzerland's first professional diplomat and the first envoy of the Helvetic Republic to France from 1798 to 1800. For over a decade, he hosted Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko at his Berville estate near Fontainebleau.

Early life and career Peter Josef Zeltner was born in Solothurn, Switzerland, to Franz Xaver Zeltner, a treasury secretary and mayor of Solothurn, and Isabelle de la Martinière, from a French noble family. He studied at the Jesuit college in Solothurn.

In 1795, Zeltner was sent to Ulm as a cantonal representative. Two years later, on 23 November 1797, after General Napoleon Bonaparte's arrival in Solothurn, Zeltner ordered an artillery salute in his honor, violating a local ban on nighttime firing. This led to his arrest

Relationship with Tadeusz Kościuszko After his diplomatic mission ended in 1800, Zeltner remained in France, where he founded a bank. From 1801 to 1815, he hosted the Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko at his Berville estate near Fontainebleau.

In his 5 May 1798 will, drafted in Philadelphia before his departure for Europe, Kościuszko named Thomas Jefferson as executor of his American estate. While staying with Zeltner, Kościuszko drafted additional wills including the family.

In 1815, after the Congress of Vienna, Kościuszko moved to Solothurn, residing with Zeltner's brother, Xaver Zeltner. He spent the last two years of his life there until his death on 15 October 1817.

Later years Following Switzerland's return to its traditional constitutional order, Zeltner resumed political activity in Solothurn. Between 1814 and 1830, he served as a member of the canton's Grand Council, continuing the family tradition of service in the local administration.

A member of Freemasonry, Zeltner e died in Solothurn on 22 January 1830, aged 64, leaving a legacy as a pioneer of Swiss diplomacy and a friend of one of the heroes of the Polish nation.

Family Peter Josef Zeltner married Angelica Charlotte Adelheid Drouin de Vandeuil de Lhuis, from a French noble family. His father, Franz Xaver Josef Anton Zeltner (1734–1801), treasurer's secretary and mayor of Solothurn, who held many prestigious positions in the canton, including that of Vogt in Gösgen, Bechburg, and Flumenthal, as well as mint master.

His older brother, Xaver Zeltner (1764–1835), was also involved in the political life of Helvetia and ended his career as a notary and appellate judge. After Kościuszko's return from France in 1815, the Polish hero spent the last years of his life in Xaver's house.