Johann Georg Adam Graf von Starhemberg, since 1765 Fürst von Starhemberg (''prince of Starhemberg'') (10 August 1724 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– 19 April 1807 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) was an Austrian diplomat, minister, chief chamberlain and close confidant of Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

Life

Georg Adam was born in London as the fifth son to the Imperial envoy Konrad Sigmund, Graf von Starhemberg (1689–1727) and his wife Leopoldine, née Princess von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1689-1763). King George I became his godfather. He had two notable great-uncles. Gundaker Thomas von Starhemberg (1663–1745), a financial expert at the court in Vienna who played a key role in the education of Georg Adam and Count

Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg (12 January 1638 – 4 January 1701) was military governor of Vienna from 1680, the city's defender during the Battle of Vienna in 1683, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial general during the Great Turkish War, an ...

(1638–1701), the military governor of Vienna and leading figure in the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

and the subsequent

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

from 1683 to 1699. In 1727, when Georg Adam was three years of age, he experienced the loss of his father who died at the age of just 38 years. Georg Adam received his education in Vienna conducted under the auspices of his mother and his great-uncle, Austrian minister of finance Gundaker Thomas von Starhemberg. Subsequently, he did his Grand Tour; in the company of a

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

he visited a number of capitals and courts in Europe. In 1742, at the age of 18, Count Georg Adam von Starhemberg joined Austrian civil service. In 1748, he was appointed 'Aulic Councillor of the Empire' (''Reichshofrat'') and became chamberlain (''Kammerherr'') of Archduke Joseph, the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa. The following years he travelled as an envoy to Lisbon, Trieste, Madrid and Paris where he met Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz. Kaunitz was married to Countess Maria Ernestine von Starhemberg (1717–1749), a granddaughter of Georg Adam's great-uncle and educator Gundaker Thomas Graf von Starhemberg. In 1754 Count Georg Adam was sent to Paris as Imperial envoy and stayed there for the next twelve years. Along with Kaunitz he paved the way for a

rapprochement In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word ''rapprocher'' ("to bring together"), is a re-establishment of cordial relations between two countries. This may be done due to a mutual antagonist, as the German Empire ...

between the Habsburgian rulers and France after a long-standing history of conflict. He tried to influence the French king primarily by Louis' chief mistress, the

Marquise de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French Royal court, court. She was the official maîtresse-en-titre, chief mistress of King Lou ...

. The first meeting between the Austrian envoy and the marquise for this purpose took place on 30 August 1755. In 1756 the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

was concluded with his participation. In Paris, Starhemberg also successfully negotiated the

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

between the Habsburg Archduchess Maria Antonia and the Duke of Berry, the future king

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

. In 1770 he accompanied the archduchess to the first encounter with her future husband. The same year he was sent to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

as authorised minister (minister plenipotentiary) in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

, since his predecessor Count

Karl von Cobenzl Johann Karl Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (21 July 1712 – 27 January 1770) 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 un ...

had died in January of that year. One of the reasons that influenced the decision to send Starhemberg to Brussels was that Joseph II who had become co-ruler in 1765 had been disappointed by Starhemberg and now wanted to remove him from the vicinity of his mother, Empress Maria Theresa, in Vienna. Starhemberg remained the next 13 years in Brussels where he successfully stimulated the development of the provinces in the Austrian Netherlands in spite of the fact that Joseph had limited his powers. During the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Starhemberg tried to establish trade contacts with the emerging young nation. Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg also managed to found the first academy of the Austrian Netherlands in Brussels in 1772 by converting Count

's 'Literary Society' into the 'Imperial and Royal Academy of Science and Letters' of Brussels with the approval of the Empress Maria Theresa. Starhemberg returned to Vienna in 1783. Count Belgiojoso became his successor in Brussels as authorised minister in the Austrian Netherlands. From 1783 until 1807 Starhemberg occupied the position as Grand Master of the Household ('' Obersthofmeister'') at the Imperial court in Vienna. However, his duties in this function had a more representative character without significant political influence except the period after the death of Joseph II from 1790 until 1797. In 1807 Starhemberg died at the age of 83.

Marriage and family

On 13 November 1747 he firstly married his cousin, Countess Maria Theresia Esther von Starhemberg (1731-1749), daughter of Count Ottokar Franz Jacob von Starhemberg (1681-1733) and Countess Maria Christine von Trautson-Falkenstein (1702-1743). She died however in October 1749 leaving behind a daughter Maria Leopodine who died in childhood in Paris in 1756. In 1761 he married his second wife Princess Maria Franziska Josefa von Salm-Salm (1731-1806), daughter of Prince Nikolus Leopold vonn Salm-Salm (1701-1770) and his first wife Princess Dorothea Franziska Agnes von Salm (1702-1751). In the following year Maria Franziska gave birth to 2 sons : * Ludwig, Prince of Starhemberg (1762–1833), his son and heir.

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

became godfather of this child. *Franz Josef (1767-1771), died in childhood.

Distinctions

He was decorated with the title 'Ambassador to the Emperor' for his diplomatic achievements in the relationship with France. In 1759 he became Knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. In 1765 Count Starhemberg was elevated from 'Graf' to 'Reichsfürst' ('' Prince of the Empire''). From then on he held the title 'Fürst von Starhemberg' (Prince of Starhemberg). In 1767 Prince of Starhemberg was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen.A. Graf Thürheim (1889)
Ludwig Fürst Starhemberg. ''Eine Lebensskizze''
p.176

Literature

*A. Graf Thürheim (1889)
Ludwig Fürst Starhemberg. ''Eine Lebensskizze''
Verlagsbuchhandlung Styria, Graz *Hanns Schlitter (1893).
ADB: Starhemberg, Georg Adam Fürst von
'. In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

, herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Band 35, p. 471–473, *Franz A. J. Szabo (1994).
Kaunitz and Enlightened Absolutism 1753-1780
'.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

*P. Lenders, « STARHEMBERG, Georg Adam von », i
Nationaal Biografisch Woordenboek
deel II, Paleis der Academiën, Brussel, 1966, p. 806-814.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starhemberg, Georg Adam von 1724 births 1807 deaths Austrian politicians Austrian princes Counts of Austria Politicians from Vienna Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Georg Adam von Starhemberg Obersthofmeister

Life

Marriage and family

Distinctions

See also

Literature

References