Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg

Frederick William
Portrait by Frans Luycx, c. 1650
Elector of Brandenburg Duke of Prussia
Reign	1 December 1640 – 29 April 1688
Predecessor	George William
Successor	Frederick III
Born	(1620-02-16)16 February 1620 Stadtschloss, Berlin, Brandenburg-Prussia, Holy Roman Empire
Died	29 April 1688(1688-04-29) (aged 68) Stadtschloss, Potsdam, Brandenburg-Prussia, Holy Roman Empire
Burial	Berlin Cathedral
Spouse	Countess Luise Henriette of Nassau ​ ​ (m. 1646; died 1667)​ Princess Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg ​ ​ (m. 1668)​
Issue Detail	Charles, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg Frederick I, King in Prussia Philip William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt Marie Amelie, Hereditary Princess of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Margrave Albert Frederick Margrave Charles Elisabeth Sophie, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen Margrave Christian Ludwig
House	Hohenzollern
Father	George William, Elector of Brandenburg
Mother	Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Religion	Calvinist
Signature

Frederick William (German: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "the Great Elector"^[1] (der Große Kurfürst) because of his military and political achievements. Frederick William was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. His shrewd domestic reforms gave Prussia a strong position in the post-Westphalian political order of Northern-Central Europe, setting Prussia up for elevation from duchy to kingdom, achieved under his son and successor.