Samuel von Cocceji

Samuel Freiherr von Cocceji (pronounced kok-'tse-yi) (October 20, 1679 – October 4, 1755) was a German official who served Brandenburg-Prussia. He was the son of Heinrich von Cocceji.

Cocceji was born in Heidelberg. By 1702 he was a professor at Viadrina University in Frankfurt (Oder) in the Kingdom of Prussia. By 1723 he was Kammergerichtspräsident (president of the superior court of justice), from 1738-39 he was chairman of the Prussian justice department, and by 1747 he was Großkanzler (grand chancellor). King Frederick II of Prussia appointed Cocceji to lead the legal reorganization of annexed Silesia. Cocceji subsequently reformed the legal system of all of Prussia.

Notes

Freiherr was a title, translated as Baron, not a first or middle name. From 1919 Freiherr and its feminine equivalents are no longer titles but part of the surname, following the given name(s) and are not translated.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.