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Clemens Wenzel von Metternich

The Most Serene
The Prince of Metternich-Winneburg
KOGF
Prince Metternich by Lawrence.jpeg
Portrait of Prince Metternich (1815) by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Prince of Metternich
1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire
In office
25 May 1821 – 13 March 1848
Monarch Francis I (1821–1835)
Ferdinand I (1835–1848)
Preceded by Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (as State Chancellor of Austria in the Holy Roman Empire)
Succeeded by Count Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky (as Minister-President)
2nd Foreign Minister of the Austrian Empire
In office
8 October 1809 – 13 March 1848
Monarch Francis I (1809–1835)
Ferdinand I (1835–1848)
Preceded by Count Warthausen
Succeeded by Count Charles-Louis de Ficquelmont
Personal details
Born 15 May 1773 (1773-05-15)
Koblenz, Electorate of Trier
Died 11 June 1859 (1859-06-12) (aged 86)
Vienna, Austrian Empire
Nationality German Austrian
Spouse(s) Princess Eleonore von Kaunitz (m. 1795–1825)
Baroness Antoinette Leykam (m. 1827–1829)
Countess Melanie Zichy-Ferraris (m. 1831–1854)
Children See list
Parents Franz Georg Karl, Graf von Metternich-Winneburg
Gräfin Beatrix von Kageneck
Education University of Strasbourg, University of Mainz
Known for The Congress of Vienna, Minister of State, Conservatism, Concert of Europe

Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (German: [ˈmɛtɐnɪç]; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859) was an Austrian diplomat and statesman who was one of the most important of his era, serving as the Austrian Empire's Foreign Minister from 1809 and Chancellor from 1821 until the liberal revolutions of 1848 forced his resignation.

One of his first assignments was to engineer a détente with France that included the marriage of Napoleon to the Austrian archduchess Marie Louise. Soon after, he engineered Austria's entry into the War of the Sixth Coalition on the Allied side, signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau that sent Napoleon into exile, and led the Austrian delegation at the Congress of Vienna that divided post-Napoleonic Europe amongst the major powers. For his service to the Austrian Empire he was given the title of Prince in October 1813. Under his guidance, the "Metternich system" of international congresses continued for another decade as Austria aligned itself with Russia and, to a lesser extent, Prussia. This marked the high point of Austria's diplomatic importance, and thereafter Metternich slowly slipped into the periphery of international diplomacy. At home, Metternich held the post of Chancellor of State from 1821 until 1848, under both Francis I and his son Ferdinand I. After brief exile in London, Brighton, and Brussels that lasted until 1851, he returned to the Viennese court, this time to offer only advice to Ferdinand's successor, Franz Josef. Having outlived his generation of politicians, Metternich died at the age of 86 in 1859.


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