Count Karl von Stürgkh (30 October 1859 – 21 October 1916) was an Austrian politician and

Minister-President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...

of Cisleithania during the 1914

July Crisis The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914, which led to the outbreak of World War I (1914–1918). The crisis began on 28 June 1914, when Gavrilo Pri ...

that led to the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was shot and killed by the Social Democratic politician Friedrich Adler.

Biography

Stürgkh descended from a Styrian noble family (originally from the Bavarian

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

region), which had been elevated to the status of

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s in 1721. He owned large estates in Halbenrain and was elected a member of the Austrian Imperial Council in 1891. From 1909 until 1911 he served as education minister in the cabinets of Richard von Bienerth-Schmerling and

Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn Paul Gautsch Freiherr von Frankenthurn (26 February 1851 – 20 April 1918) was an Austrian statesman who served three times as Minister-President of Cisleithania. Biography Paul Gautsch was born in Döbling (a Vienna suburb incorporated in 189 ...

. Gautsch resigned when rising prices led to bloody unrest in

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

and even a shooting in parliament (the bullets just missed Stürgkh), whereafter Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria 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 ...

appointed him Austrian Minister-President (Prime Minister) on 3 November 1911. He went on to rule the Cisleithanian lands autocratically: On 16 March 1914 he used the continuous filibustering in parliament to indefinitely adjourn the convenings of the Imperial Council and to pass laws by

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

decrees. This ''de facto'' elimination of the legislature turned out to be fatal in the following

, when upon the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria the deputies were not able to interact with the government on the way to

. Stürgkh together with Foreign Minister

Leopold Berchtold Leopold Anton Johann Sigismund Josef Korsinus Ferdinand Graf Berchtold von und zu Ungarschitz, Frättling und Püllütz ( hu, Gróf Berchtold Lipót, cs, Leopold hrabě Berchtold z Uherčic) (18 April 1863 – 21 November 1942) was an Austro-H ...

and Chief-of-Staff

Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf Franz Xaver Josef Conrad von Hötzendorf (after 1919 Franz Conrad; 11 November 1852 – 25 August 1925), sometimes anglicised as Hoetzendorf, was an Austrian general who played a central role in World War I. He served as '' K.u.k. Feldmarschall ...

advocated a preventive strike against

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, mainly for internal reasons, in order to defy

Pan-Slavism Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rule ...

in the

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 ...

, Carniolan and Croatian crown lands. After the declaration of war on 28 July, Stürgkh implemented a harsh

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and kept refusing to convoke the parliament. He served as Prime Minister until he was shot and killed by Friedrich Adler, son of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

chairman

Victor Adler __NOTOC__ Victor Adler (24 June 1852 – 11 November 1918) was an Austrian politician, a leader of the labour movement and founder of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP). Life Adler was born in Prague, the son of a Jewish merchant, who ...

, while having lunch in the Meissl & Schadn Hotel's dining room. Adler's action was a protest against Stürgkh's government without the legislature. Emperor Franz Joseph appointed

Ernest von Koerber Ernest Karl Franz Joseph Thomas Friedrich von Koerber (6 November 1850 – 5 March 1919) was an Austrian liberal statesman who served as prime minister of the Austrian portion of Austria-Hungary from 1900 to 1904 and again in 1916. Biography E ...

as Stürgkh's successor, one of his last official acts, as he died four weeks later. Adler was sentenced to death, pardoned by Emperor

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 ...

, and finally amnestied after the war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgkh, Karl von 1859 births 1916 murders in Austria Politicians from Graz People from the Duchy of Styria Counts of Austria Ministers-President of Austria Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1901–1907) 20th-century Ministers-President of Austria Assassinated heads of government Assassinated Austrian politicians Deaths by firearm in Austria