Dominic von Habsburg (born 4 July 1937) is a member of the Grand Ducal Family of Tuscany and 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 ...

. He is also the

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

Carloctavismo Carloctavismo (; the name appears also as ''carlosoctavismo'', ''carlooctavismo'', ''carlos-octavismo'', ''carlo-octavismo'', or ''octavismo'') is a branch of Carlism, particularly active in the 1943–1953 period. In terms of dynastical allegianc ...

pretender to the throne of Spain under the name Domingo I. Dominic was born in 1937 in ( Hollabrunn, Austria), where he was baptized Dominic Habsburg-Lothringen. Into the family he is named ''Niki''. In 1942, after spending the first few years of his childhood at Sonnberg Castle, he moved with his parents, his brother, and his four sisters to Romania. In Romania, Dominic resided with his parents at Bran Castle, Braşov. After his first cousin,

King Michael I of Romania Michael I ( ro, Mihai I ; 25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) was the last King of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forced abdication on 30 December 1947. Shortly after Michael's ...

, was forced to abdicate the throne in 1947, Dominic and his family were exiled by the Communist regime and sought refuge in Switzerland and Argentina before ultimately settling in the United States.

Personal life

In 1956, the Comunión Carloctavista y Círculo Carlos VIII courted Dominic as the legitimate Carlist claimant and heir to the Spanish throne to counter Generalísimo Francisco Franco's choice of Juan Carlos as king of Spain. In 1975 the Comunión Carloctavista y Círculo Carlos VIII affirmed his legitimacy as Domingo I. Dominic returned to Austria in 1961 and resided there until 1976, when he moved to the Dominican Republic, Antigua, and Italy, and finally settled in New York. Dominic was naturalized as a United States citizen in 2004. In 2012 Senator Iñaki Anasagasti of the Basque County proposed the idea of creating a Catalan-Basque-Navarrese monarchy with Archduke Dominic as its king. Dominic gained International renown in 2006 following the restitution of Bran Castle (commonly known as Dracula's Castle) in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, Romania, which had been appropriated by the Communists in 1948. He married firstly Virginia Engel von Voss (31 March 1937 – 27 September 2000) on 11 June 1960, and had two sons. They divorced in 1999 and married Israeli born Emmanuella Mlynarski (born 14 January 1948, former El Al

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

and former wife of

Gad Yaacobi Gad Yaacobi ( he, גד יעקבי, 18 January 1935 – 27 August 2007) was an Israeli Minister, Alignment Knesset member, and Israel Ambassador to the United Nations. Biography Yaacobi was born in Kfar Vitkin during Mandate era, where he compl ...

) on 14 August 1999. *Count Sandor von Habsburg (born 13 February 1965); married Priska Vilcsek (born 18 March 1959) on 15 May 2000 and were divorced on 22 December 2009. They had one son. He remarried Herta Öfferl on 24 December 2010. **Count Constantin von Habsburg (born 11 July 2000) *Count Gregor von Habsburg (born 20 November 1968); married Jacquelyn Frisco (born 17 November 1965) on 13 August 2011.

Professional life

Dominic is an alumnus of the Brooks School and the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

, graduating from RISD in 1960 with a BFA in Industrial Design. In 1962, he established his own design and marketing consultancy firm in Austria, which covered a variety of companies and products throughout Europe and the United States. In 1969, he founded and directed the department for Product Research, Development and Design, at

Semperit Semperit AG Holding is a manufacturer of industrial polymer and plastic products based in Vienna, Austria. From the middle 20th century, it produced bicycle tires for the Austrian road bicycle sold by Sears & Roebuck, including the classic white ...

AG (later

Continental Tire Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...

). Between 1974 and 1978, the

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

and the World Bank enlisted him as an expert in Central America and Africa for small and medium-size industries. He was also an arts instructor in the Piesting grade school in Austria (1974–75) and a professor of industrial engineering and management at CEAT-INTEC in the Dominican Republic. In 1976, he established a silk-screen printing studio for tropical fashions in

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, West Indies. At the request of the Antiguan W.I. Ministry of Education, he conducted courses for educators in hand-crafts and fine arts. Today, Dominic is retired and living in New York. He continues to pursue art and design as well as running Bran Castle.

Titles

As a member of the Tuscan line of the

Dominic is an Archduke of Austria, Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Tuscany with the style

His 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 ...

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published ...

(2018), 'Austria', Pages 42-86

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Habsburg, Dominic von 1937 births Living people

Dominic Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...

Austrian princes Carlist pretenders to the Spanish throne People with acquired American citizenship Brooks School alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni Austrian emigrants to the United States Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Navarrese titular monarchs