Claude de Mesmes | |
|---|---|
| comte d'Avaux | |
 | |
| Tenure | 1642–1650 |
| Predecessor | Jean-Jacques de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux |
| Successor | Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux |
| Born | 1595 |
| Died | 19 November 1650 |
| Father | Jean-Jacques II de Mesmes |
| Mother | Antoinette de Grossaine |
| Occupation | Diplomat, Superintendent of Finances |
Claude de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux (1595–1650) was a 17th-century French diplomat and public administrator. He was sent in various missions to Venice, Rome, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland by Richelieu.
In 1635 he guided the negotiations of the Treaty of Stuhmsdorf, which extended the truce between Poland and Sweden. These two countries had fought each other in the Polish-Swedish war of 1626–1629, which had ended in a truce rather than a peace. France wanted peace between Poland and Sweden as the Swedes were fighting for France in Germany and the Poles would have menaced their flank.
In 1638 he negotiated a new alliance between France and Sweden in the Treaty of Hamburg. He also was plenipotentiary at the Peace of Westphalia and ended his career as Superintendent of Finances.