Karl von Cobenzl

Johann Karl Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (21 July 1712 in Laibach (now Ljubljana) – 27 January 1770 in Brussels) was an 18th-century politician in the Habsburg Monarchy. He was minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands in Brussels under Empress Maria Theresia from 1753 until his death in 1770.

Cobenzl was born in 1712 in Laibach, Carniola, Austrian Empire (present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia) as the son of Johann Caspar von Cobenzl (1664-1742), Imperial councillor and his second wife Carolina Sophia von Rindsmaul (1682-1756), and thus a member of the Austrian Von Cobenzl family.

He studied in Leiden and Würzburg and subsequently became treasurer of the emperor in 1730. Five years later, in 1735, he was appointed Imperial councillor, in succession of his father. From 1738 onwards, he was committed to solve the boundary problems between Upper Lorraine and Lower Lorraine. During the reign of Empress Maria Theresia he was travelling as an envoy throughout the Habsburgian empire solving all kinds of problems.

On 19 May 1753, Cobenzl was appointed minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands in Brussels by Empress Maria Theresia. His predecessor was Antoniotto Botta Adorno who then became Prime minister of Tuscany. In 1759, Cobenzl was appointed member of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Cobenzl's long term in office as minister plenipotentiary is seen as a successful period, although he constantly had to struggle with lack of money.

Well noted is his strong ambition for arts and culture throughout his life and he collected a huge amount of art. In 1768 in Brussels Catherine the Great bought the collections of Count Karl von Cobenzl and Prince Charles de Ligne which are now displayed in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

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