Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen (30 May 1852 Palais Mollard-Clary,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

12 February 1928 Castle Herrnau,

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

) was an Austro-Hungarian nobleman and statesman. He served as the 16th Minister-President of Cisleithania (therefore the 28th Minister-President of Austria overall).

Biography

Family

Born into a prominent Austro-Hungarian princely family of

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

origin (the

Clary-Aldringen The House of Clary und Aldringen, also known as Clary-Aldringen, is one of the most prominent Austro-Hungarian princely families. Originally from Friuli, Northern Italy, one branch of the family moved to the County of Tyrol around 1500 and to the ...

s), the son of Fürst (prince) Edmund Moritz and Fürstin (princess) Elisabeth-Alexandrine von Clary-und-Aldringen, (born countess de Ficquelmont). He is the younger brother of Fürst (prince) Siegfried (1848–1929) who was a prominent Austro-Hungarian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and the grandson of

count Charles-Louis de Ficquelmont Karl Ludwig, Count of Ficquelmont (; french: Charles-Louis comte de Ficquelmont; 23 March 1777 – 7 April 1857) was an Austrian aristocrat, statesman and Field marshal of the Austrian Imperial army of French noble origin. Biography French ...

(1777–1857), 2nd Minister-President of the Austrian Empire. In 1884, he married in Vienna Gräfin (countess) Franziska Pejácsevich von Veröcze, heiress of one of the most powerful family of the Croatian descending from the princes Esterházy von Galántha. The couple had two children.

Political career

Count Clary-und-Aldringen studied

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

before starting a political career in

Imperial Austria The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. The

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

was dominated by a small circle of high nobility familiessee

List of princes of Austria-Hungary This page lists princely families in the territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whether extant or extinct. The style of address was ''Durchlaucht'' (Serene Highness); also used was ''Fürstliche Gnaden'' (Princely Grace). The Austrian princely ...

and

List of counts of Austria-Hungary This page lists Austrian nobility, comital families in the territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whether extant or extinct. Mediatized counts (''Reichsgrafen'') were entitled to the style of ''Erlaucht'' (Illustrious Highness), while others ...

that had great power and enormous riches and thus played a major role in

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

. Count Manfred is the perfect example of such an influence. On February 22, 1896, he became

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Länder Länder (singular Land) or Bundesländer (singular Bundesland) is the name for (federal) states in two German-speaking countries. It may more specifically refer to: * States of Austria, the nine federal subdivisions of Austria * States of Germany ...

of Austrian-Silesia, a key office in a strategic region for the Empire: not only was the länder rich in natural resources but it also lay at the border with both

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Empires. Austrian-Silesia was heir to a long power struggle between these three empires and at the heart of the

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...

issues of central European

irredentism Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent sta ...

s. In 1898, Count Manfred became Governor and representative at the Imperial Austrian '' Reischrat'' (''Imperial Austrian Council'') for the Länder of

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

, an office of major importance he kept until the fall of the Empire in 1918. Styria was one of the powerhouses of the Austro-Hungarian economy, the länder was a center of industries and agricultures, and its capital

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

was one of the Empire's most populous cities. From October 2 to December 21, 1899, Count Clary-und-Aldringen served as Minister-President of Austria, following in the steps of his grandfather,

Count Charles-Louis de Ficquelmont Karl Ludwig, Count of Ficquelmont (; french: Charles-Louis comte de Ficquelmont; 23 March 1777 – 7 April 1857) was an Austrian aristocrat, statesman and Field marshal of the Austrian Imperial army of French noble origin. Biography French ...

(1777–1857) who succeeded

Prince Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

as the second Minister-President of the Empire in 1848.

Later life

After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following the defeat of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

during the autumn of 1918, Count Manfred resigned from all his official offices and spent his remaining years between his estates in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and his family's Czech estates (

Teplice Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The his ...

). On February 12, 1928 count Manfred von Clary-und-Aldringen died in his

residence of Schoss Herrnau (Herrnau Castle). Count Clary und Aldringen is widely seen as a modernizer and has been regarded as both one of the most prominent statesman of the end of the

and a symbol of the influence of the Austro-Hungarian high nobility in

at the turn of the 19th century. He has also been well known for successfully fighting

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

when he was President of the Austrian

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

in Kronland.

Honours

* : ** Knight of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph (german: Kaiserlich-Österreichischer Franz-Joseph-Orden) was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes ...

, ''1890'' ** Knight of the Iron Crown, 1st Class, ''1905'' ** Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, ''1915'' ** War Cross for Civil Merits, 1st Class ** Merit Star of the

Decoration for Services to the Red Cross The Decoration for Services to the Red Cross (''Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um das Rote Kreuz'') was an Austro-Hungarian award instituted on 17 August 1914 by Emperor Franz Josef I to mark the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention. It was i ...

, with War Decoration ** Jubilee Cross for Civil State Officials ** Bronze Jubilee Medal for the Armed Forces ** Jubilee Medal for Civil State Officials * : Knight of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

Notes

Bibliography

* * : ''Badeni – Thun – Clary-Aldringen – Eulenburg. Das österreichische Regierungssystem in der Krise der Jahre 1897–1899.'' In: Gernot Peter Obersteiner (Hrsg.): ''Festschrift Gerhard Pferschy zum 70. Geburtstag.'' Historische Landeskommission für Steiermark, Graz 2000, , S. 327–349. * : ''Manfred Graf Clary und Aldringen. Der letzte k. k. Statthalter in Steiermark. Sein Leben und Wirken.'' Graz 1952

External links

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Ottův slovník naučný
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Ottův slovník naučný nové doby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clary-Aldringen, Manfred von 1852 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Ministers-President of Austria 19th-century Austrian people Ministers-President of Austria Bohemian nobility Austrian people of German Bohemian descent Austrian people of Russian descent Politicians from Vienna

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. Byr ...

University of Vienna alumni Knights of the Order of Franz Joseph