1866
On Beust fell also the chief responsibility for governing the country after order was restored, and he was the author of the so-called coup d'état of June 1850 by which the new constitution was overthrown. The vigor he showed in repressing all resistance to the government, especially that of the university, and in reorganizing the police, made him one of the most unpopular men among the Liberals, and his name became synonymous with the worst form of reaction, but it is not clear that the attacks on him were justified.
After this he was chiefly occupied with foreign affairs, and he soon became one of the most conspicuous figures in German politics. He was the leader of that party which hoped to maintain the independence of the smaller states, and was the opponent of all attempts on the part of Prussia to attract them into a separate union. In 1849-1850 he was compelled to bring Saxony into the "three kings' union" of Prussia, Hanover and Saxony, but he was careful to keep open a loophole for withdrawal, of which he speedily availed himself. In the crisis of 1851, Saxony was on the side of Austria, and he supported the restoration of the diet of the Confederation.
In 1854 he took part in the Bamberg conferences, in which the smaller German states claimed the right to direct their own policy independently of Austria or of Prussia, and he was the leading supporter of the idea of the Trias, i.e., that the smaller states should form a closer union among themselves against the preponderance of the great monarchies. In 1863 he came forward as a warm supporter of the claims of the prince of Augustenburg to Schleswig-Holstein. He was the leader of the party in the German diet which refused to recognize the settlement of the Danish question effected in 1852 by the Treaty of London, and in 1864 he was appointed representative of the diet at the congress of London.
He was thus thrown into opposition to the policy of Bismarck, and he was exposed to violent attacks in the Prussian press as a particularist, i.e., a supporter of the independence of the smaller states. The expulsion of the Saxon troops from Rendsburg nearly led to a conflict with Prussia. Beust was accused of having brought about the war of 1866, but the responsibility for this must rest with Bismarck. On the outbreak of war Beust accompanied the king to Prague, and thence to Vienna, where they were received by Emperor Franz Joseph with the news of Königgratz. Beust undertook a mission to Paris to procure the help of Napoleon III. When the terms of peace were discussed he resigned, for Bismarck refused to negotiate with him.
Read more about this topic: Count Friedrich Ferdinand Von Beust, Affairs of State, Germany 1849