He was the son of
Baron Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal and his first wife, Catharina von Klitzing. At the age of 13 he was sent to the
Viadrina in 1650, the year his father became the Governor of
Halberstadt. In 1653 he accompanied his father to the
Diet of Ratisbon. He attended various universities including
Leipzig and
Helmstedt, before being sent on a grand tour under the supervision of his tutor, Burckhardt Niderstedt. His account of their visit to
Malta,
Malta Vetus et Nova survives. He returned just after his father's death in 1656, and was invited by the Great Elector to join the Privy Council, aged only 20. In 1660 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to France and Spain, tasked with the heavy responsibility of confirming Brandenburg's interests in the
Treaty of Oliva. On his return, he married Louise Hedwig, daughter of
Otto von Schwerin, President of the Privy Council. In 1662 he was the youngest ever delegate to the Imperial Diet. In 1663 he was sent as Brandenburg's ambassador to Paris, where he fell sick and went to London from August that year to recuperate. He was accredited to the court of Louis XIV again in 1666 and then was sent to Vienna before returning in 1668 to negotiate over the Polish succession. He died Sept. 16, 1689 In 1672 he negotiated unsuccessfully with the
Elector of Trier for safe passage for Brandenburg's troops over the Rhine. From the 1680s he fell from favour with the Great Elector and retired to his estates. He remained in the Privy Council and became Commander of the
Supplinburg Commandery of the
Order of St. John. At the
Great Elector's funeral he carried the
Great Seal. ==References==