Archduchess Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

Gabriela von Habsburg (born 14 October 1956) is an abstract

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, working mainly in stainless steel as well as stone-printed

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

. She was the ambassador of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 2009 to 2013. She is the granddaughter of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, the last

emperor of Austria The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Ho ...

Early life

Gabriela von Habsburg was born in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, the fourth child of the German politician

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

, head of the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa, Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively List ...

and erstwhile

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne of

Austria-Hungary 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 ...

, and Regina (née Prinzessin von Sachsen-Meiningen). She was baptised with the names Gabriela Maria Charlotte Felicitas Elisabeth Antonia. The name in her birth certificate is Gabriela von Österreich-Ungarn. Gabriela von Habsburg was raised at her parents' home in

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, Villa Austria, in

Pöcking Pöcking is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, consort of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary, grew up here in the Possenhofen Castle as daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Prin ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. As a result of the Habsburgs' banishment from Austria, she feels that she grew up devoid of any sense of pride of country and thus identifies as European.Gelber, David, Financial Times,
The art of diplomacy
', 29 April 2011, access date 21 May 2011 She believes that her

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

's role in history shaped her upbringing, noting that her family "never spoke about anything at mealtimes except politics". A granddaughter of the last

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 ...

n emperor,

, she does not use the traditional Habsburg-Lorraine titles ("Princess Imperial and

, Princess Royal of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

", with the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

Imperial and Royal Highness Imperial and Royal Highness (abbreviation HI&RH) is a style possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, ''Imperial Highness'' and ''Royal Highness''. ''His/Her Imperial Highness'' is a style used by membe ...

). After graduating in 1976, Gabriela von Habsburg studied philosophy for two years at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. From 1978 to 1982, she studied art at the Munich Academy of Arts with

Robert Jacobsen Robert Julius Tommy Jacobsen (4 June 1912 – 26 January 1993) was a Danish sculptor and painter. The Danish Robert Award is named in his honor. Biography Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen. He was self-taught as a sculptor. During World War I, ...

and

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...

Career

Since 2001, she has been an art professor at the Academy of Arts of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

while also teaching at the Summer Academy of Arts in

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, Neu ...

, Germany until 2005. She found the creativity and cheerfulness of her students in the face of the adversity then prevalent in Georgia inspiring. During her tenure there she was granted

Georgian citizenship Georgian nationality law is the law governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Georgian citizenship. Naturalization as a Georgian Anyone who has stayed in Georgia for a total period of ten years may apply for Georgian nationality. The ...

. Her five hectare vineyard in Georgia produces wine. In November 2009, Georgia appointed Gabriela von Habsburg as its ambassador to Germany, and since March 2011, she has maintained a flat in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Believing that Georgian history served as a

crucible A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. While crucibles were historically usually made from clay, they can be made from any material that withstands te ...

for European culture, she has maintained that the liberalizing reforms of President

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

have been welcome and invigorating for Georgia's people and economy, which has prompted her to work for Georgia's membership in the

European Market The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...

. She was dismissed from her position in January 2013, after the change of government in Georgia in October 2012. Since March 2010, Gabriela von Habsburg has represented Georgia at the International Council of the

Austrian Service Abroad The Austrian Service Abroad is a non-profit organization founded by Andreas Hörtnagl, Andreas Maislinger and Michael Prochazka in 1998, which sends young Austrians to work in partner institutions worldwide serving Holocaust commemoration in f ...

Public installations

*1985 Museum of the State of Tyrolya (Ferdinandeum), Innsbruck, Austria *1990 National Academy of Science, Washington D.C. *1994 Voest Alpine MCE, Linz, Austria *1994 Achmatowa Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia *1994 Museion Bozen, Bolzano, Italy *1995 Museum for foreign Art, Riga, Latvia *1996 Museum Würth, Künzelsau, Germany *1997 Municipal Gallery of Budapest, Hungary *1998 City Museum of Skopje, Macedonia *1998 Galeria Murska Sobota, Slovenia *2004 Skulpturschweiz Foundation Sculpture park, Luzern, Switzerland *2007 Monument of the

Rose Revolution The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...

in Georgia *2009 Monument to the Three Powers in the State, at the

Ceremonial Palace of Georgia The Ceremonial Palace of Georgia ( ka, სახელმწიფო ცერემონიების სასახლე), formerly known as the Presidential Administration of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრეზ� ...

Marriage and children

On 30 August 1978, in

, Bavaria, Gabriela was married civilly and on 5 September 1978 religiously at

Mont Sainte-Odile , photo = Ottrott Mont Sainte-Odile.JPG , photo_caption = Mont Sainte-Odile and the Monastery , elevation_m = 764 , elevation_ref = Official maps of IGN available on the ''Géoportail''. , prominence_m = , prominence_ref= , range = Vos ...

to Christian Meister (born 1 September 1954 in

Starnberg Starnberg is a German town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the " Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg. Recording a disposable per-capi ...

), a German attorney, son of Karl Meister and Johanna Sponheim. They

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d in 1997 and the marriage was

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost ...

canonically.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal and Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. ''Empire d'Autriche-Hongrie''. Paris, 2002, p.201. Gabriela was the only one of her parents' seven children to marry a spouse who had neither a title nor an aristocratic name. They have three children and five grandchildren: *Severin Meister (born 9 January 1981 in Starnberg) *Lioba Meister (born 20 August 1983 in Starnberg) *Alene Meister (born 7 September 1986 in Starnberg)

Honours

Dynastic honours

Gabriela von Habsburg-Lothringen is sometimes referred to as "Archduchess of Austria", a reference to the defunct familial title of her grandfather, but says that "I do not like my family titles. Whatever you inherit, you haven’t done anything for". *

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

: Grand Mistress Dame of the

Order of the Starry Cross The Order of the Starry Cross (or Order of the Star Cross/Star Cross Order; German: ''Sternkreuz-Orden'') is an imperial Austrian dynastic order for Catholic noble ladies, founded in 1668. The order still exists under the House of Habsburg-Lorraine ...

National state honours

* : Recipient of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

* : Recipient of the

Order of Honor Order of Honor may refer to: *Order of Honour (Armenia) *Order of Honor (Belarus), established in 1995 * Order of Honor (Georgia) *Order of Honour (Greece), an award that replaced the abolished Royal Order of George I in 1975 *Order of Honour (Moldo ...

Literature

Gabriela von Habsburg. Sculpture (English version) By Prof. Mathias Frehner and Prof. Carla Schulz-Hofmann Bucher GmbH & Co. Druck Verlag Netzwerk; (22. Oktober 2007) Gabriela von Habsburg.Skulpturen (German version)

Notes

External links

*
Gabriela von Habsburg cited as Creator of the CineMerit Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habsburg, Gabriela Von Living people 1956 births Austrian royal consorts German sculptors German people of Austrian descent German people of Hungarian descent Georgian people of European descent Georgian people of Austrian descent Georgian people of Hungarian descent

Gabriela von Habsburg Archduchess Gabriela von Habsburg (born 14 October 1956) is an abstract sculptor, working mainly in stainless steel as well as stone-printed lithography. She was the ambassador of Georgia to Germany from 2009 to 2013. She is the granddaughter o ...

Ambassadors of Georgia (country) to Germany Women ambassadors from Georgia (country)