 In 1760 , Maria Theresa created the council of state , composed of the state chancellor , three members of the high nobility and three knights , which served as a committee of experienced people who advised her . The council of state lacked executive or legislative authority , but nevertheless showed the difference between the form of government employed by Frederick II of Prussia . Unlike the latter , Maria Theresa was not an autocrat who acted as her own minister . Prussia would adopt this form of government only after 1807 . 
