Count Alexander Konstantin Albrecht von Mensdorff-Pouilly, 1st Prince von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg (german: Alexander Konstantin Albrecht

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

von Mensdorff-Pouilly, 1.

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of ...

von Dietrichstein zu

Nikolsburg Mikulov (; german: Nikolsburg; yi, ניקאלשבורג, ''Nikolshburg'') is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic centre of Mikulov is well preserved and i ...

; 4 August 1813 in

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

– 14 February 1871) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

general, diplomat and politician, including two years as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1864–66) and one month's service as Minister-President of Austria. He was a cousin of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

Life and career

He was born as a son of

Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Sophie Friederike Karoline Luise of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (16 August 1778 – 9 July 1835) was a princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the sister of Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and King Leopold I of Belgium, and aunt of Q ...

and Count

Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly Emmanuel Graf von Mensdorff-Pouilly (24 January 1777 – 28 June 1852) was an army officer in the Imperial-Royal Army of the Austrian Empire, and vice-governor of Mainz. He was the uncle of Queen Victoria and the godfather of her husband, Pri ...

, a member of the House of Mensdorff-Pouilly. He entered the Austrian army in 1829, and he was promoted to captain in 1836 and major in 1844. In 1848–49, he fought in the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...

and against the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...

. In 1849, he was promoted to colonel and the following year to major general. In 1851, Mensdorff-Pouilly was appointed as the Austrian commissioner to

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

. In 1852, he became the Austrian ambassador to Russia. He was promoted to ''Feldmarschallleutnant'' in 1858. During the

Polish Uprising of 1863 The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

, he served as the governor of Austrian Galicia.

Foreign Minister

Mensdorff-Pouilly was appointed as

Foreign Minister of the Austrian Empire This is a list of foreign ministers (german: Außenminister) of the Habsburg monarchy, of the Austrian Empire, and of Austria-Hungary up to 1918. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Habsburg monarchy (1720–1805) From 1664/69 the Privy Conferen ...

on 27 October 1864. Mensdorff-Pouilly's policies during his tenure as Foreign Minister for

Emperor Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

were often largely a continuation of the conservative traditionalism of Count Johann von Rechberg und Rothenlöwen, his predecessor. Mensdorff-Pouilly, like

Rechberg The House of Rechberg is the name of an old noble comital family in Swabia during the Holy Roman Empire period. They were sovereign counts of Rechberg and Rothenlöwen. As a mediatized house (mediatized by Württemberg in 1806), the family belo ...

, sought to maintain conservative dominance of the German Confederation through an alliance between Austria and Prussia (in which Prussia was the junior partner), and he steadfastly refused to consider United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British suggestions that Austria surrender Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Venetia to Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946), Italy.F. R. Bridge, ''The Habsburg Monarchy Among the Great Powers, 1815-1918.'' After Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Mensdorff-Pouilly resigned his functions in November of that year. After his resignation, he was appointed commanding general in Zagreb and Prague.

Family

He married Alexandrine "Aline" von Dietrichstein, Dietrichstein-Proskau-Leslie (1824–1906), daughter of Joseph, 9th Prince von Dietrichstein (1798–1858), with whom he had children: * Marie Gabriele von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein (1858–1889) * Hugo, 2nd Prince von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg (1858–1920), married Princess Olga Alexandrovna House of Dolgorukov, Dolgorukova (1873 - 1946) in 1892 * Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein * Clotilde Apponyi, Clotilde von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein, married Albert Apponyi, Count Albert Apponyi in 1897

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mensdorff-Pouilly, Alexander von 1813 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Ministers-President of Austria 19th-century Czech people Austro-Hungarian politicians Austrian Empire politicians Foreign ministers of Austria Ministers-President of Austria Counts of Germany Counts of Austria Dietrichstein family, Alexander Austrian people of German descent Bohemian nobility People from Coburg Politicians from Prague Mensdorff-Pouilly family, Alexander Governors of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog