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Count Wenzel Anton Kaunitz-Rietberg
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Wenzel Anton, prince von Kaunitz-Rietberg |
| German Literature Companion: Wenzel Anton Kaunitz |
Kaunitz, Wenzel Anton, Graf von (Vienna, 1711-94, Vienna), was from 1753 until 1792 state chancellor of Austria and the chief architect of home and foreign policy. After an education that included travel to France, the Low Countries, and Italy, he entered the civil administration in 1735. He first made his mark as Austrian representative at the peace negotiations at Aachen in 1748 (see Österreichischer Erbfolgekrieg), when his ability earned the regard of Maria Theresia, despite the modest results of his efforts. In the following years he sought an alliance with France, preparatory to an attempt to regain Silesia from Prussia, and was eventually successful in winning French support in 1755 (see Diplomatische Revolution). The Seven Years War (see Siebenjähriger Krieg), however, ended with the coalition in ruins, and the Peace of Hubertusburg marked the failure of Kaunitz's foreign policy. He nevertheless retained the confidence of the Empress, and in his later years succeeded in adding important new territories to the Austrian dominions, including large tracts of Poland in 1772 (see Poland, Partitions of) and the Innviertel in 1779 (see Bayrischer Erbfolgekrieg). In his conduct of foreign affairs in the last decade of Maria Theresia's reign, he strengthened the ambitions of her co-regent, the Emperor Joseph II, against the wishes of the Empress, seeking to maintain Austrian prestige against Prussian rivalry.
Kaunitz was created Prince (Fürst) von Kaunitz-Rittberg in 1764. He was a man of considerable eccentricity (he could not abide fresh air and took exercise only indoors), but he did not allow his vanity or his foibles to prejudice his service to the state.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Wenzel Anton Fürst von Kaunitz |
Kaunitz, Wenzel Anton, Fürst von (vĕn'tsəl än'tôn fürst fən kou'nĭts), 1711-94, Austrian statesman. He distinguished himself as a negotiator of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) and was (1750-53) ambassador to Paris. From 1753 until his retirement in 1792 he served the Hapsburg rulers, Maria Theresa, Joseph II, and Leopold II, as chancellor and foreign minister. Reversing 300 years of Hapsburg diplomacy, Kaunitz recognized Prussia rather than France as the chief enemy of Austria and was responsible for the coalition that led to the Seven Years War. Through Kaunitz, Austria shared in the first partition of Poland (1772). Kaunitz did not agree with all of the reforms of Joseph II, but he helped Joseph centralize the administration. Kaunitz is regarded as one of the most astute statesmen of the 18th cent.
| Wikipedia: Count Wenzel Anton Kaunitz-Rietberg |
Wenzel Anton Graf[1] Kaunitz (Czech: Václav Antonín hrabě Kounic-Rietberg) (February 2, 1711 – June 27, 1794) was an Austrian statesman.
Kaunitz was born in Vienna to an old Bohemian noble family settled in Moravia. It was intended that Kaunitz should become a clergyman when he was a boy, but he soon decided otherwise and studied law instead. During his career, he was Austria's ambassador in Turin (1741), then minister in the Austrian Netherlands during the absence of its ruler Prince Charles of Lorraine, October 1744 to June 1746; he was virtually the head of government after the death of the governor, Archduchess Maria-Anna, sister of Maria Theresa in December 1744.[2] The following French advance forced his retreat with the government of the Austrian Netherlands, first to Antwerp, then to Aachen, where Kaunitz represented Austria at the Congress of Aachen at the close of the War of the Austrian Succession (1748) and was ambassador at Versailles 1750-53, where he cooperated in laying the groundwork for the future Bourbon-Habsburg alliance. He had long been a strong opponent of the Anglo-Austrian Alliance which had existed since 1731.
Kaunitz's most important and extremely influential office was that of the chancellor of state and minister of foreign affairs, which he held 1753-92 and where he had Maria Theresa's full trust. Thanks in large part to him, Habsburg Austria entered a treaty (1756) with her old enemy France (and later Russia and Sweden) against the Kingdom of Prussia to win back Silesia, which Austria lost to Prussia during the Silesian Wars. Kaunitz founded the Austrian Council of State, the Staatsrat, 1761, overseeing the reorganization of the army under Daun and worked towards the goal of subjecting the church to the state. He followed the thoughts of the Age of Enlightenment and among his aims was also the better education of the commoners.
From 1764 Kaunitz was styled Reichsfürst[3] von Kaunitz-Rietberg (Imperial Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg), his father having been Maximilian Ulrich von Kaunitz, and his mother having been Marie Ernestine von Ostfriesland-Rietberg.
Although Joseph II generally shared such ideas, his reforms moved too fast and too thoroughly for Kaunitz. whose influence grew less during Joseph's reign (1765–90), and even less when Joseph's brother Leopold II reigned; he resigned his office at the accession of Francis II. Kaunitz died in Vienna.
Notes
- ^ Regarding personal names: Graf is a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin.)
- ^
"Wenzel Anton Kaunitz". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Wenzel_Anton_Kaunitz. - ^ Regarding personal names: Reichsfürst is a title, translated as Prince of the Empire, not a first or middle name. The female form is Reichsfürstin. Titles using the prefix Reichs- were those created before the fall of the Holy Roman Empire.
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