His uncle induced him to study in the German and Swiss universities and travel for some years in Italy, France, England and Holland, to prepare himself for a statesman’s career.

During these years he made the acquaintance of the poets Gellert and Jacobi, the writer Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, the duc de Choiseul, and Gottfried Achenwall, the statistician.

A deep but temporary Russian dissatisfaction with the treaty, however, was exploited by his Danish rivals, and in November 1780, he was dismissed by Guldberg.

Until his death, he was in reality “prime minister” of Denmark, the leading man of the cabinet by whose advice the Prince Regent was normally guided.

He firmly maintained a neutral line and showed his special virtuosity in balancing the great powers in order to protect Danish trade.

His diplomacy was strong but not rigid, and he maintained the economic position of the Danish merchants and in spite of problems with both France and England.

A loyal supporter of Danish absolutism, he was, however, in many ways a liberal by nature and the relative freedom of the press of this period was probably due to his wishes.

To his contemporaries his relatively early death was felt as a great misfortune – though it is impossible to decide whether he would have been able to maintain his political line.

In many ways he was one of the last representatives of the German aristocratic statesmen of Danish state service before the national reaction began.

His son Count Christian Günther von Bernstorff (1769-1835) served as Danish secretary of state for foreign affairs and privy councillor.

Another son Count Joachim Frederik von Bernstorff (1771-1835) was attached to the Danish service and was associated with his brother in representing Denmark at the Congress of Vienna and in 1815 was appointed ambassador at that court.