Count Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky ( cs, František Antonín Kolovrat-Libštejnský; 31 January 1778 – 4 April 1861) was

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 ...

noble and

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

statesman from the House of Kolowrat. As a moderate liberal politician, he was one of the major opponents of State Chancellor Prince

Klemens von 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 ...

during the ''

Vormärz ' (; English: ''pre-March'') was a period in the history of Germany preceding the 1848 March Revolution in the states of the German Confederation. The beginning of the period is less well-defined. Some place the starting point directly after the ...

'' era. In the March Revolution of 1848, Kolowrat became the first constitutional Minister-President of Austria; however, he resigned after one month in office.

Life

He was born and raised in the Bohemian capital

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, a scion of the

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 ...

n family of high nobility (the House of Kolowrat), whose ancestors had already served under the

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 ...

emperor Charles IV. Having finished his studies at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , under ...

, Franz Anton entered the Austrian civil service at the

Beroun Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former part ...

district administration in January 1799. During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

he achieved the office of a

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

of the

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 ...

emperor

Francis I of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

at Prague and in 1810 became '' Oberstburggraf of the Bohemian kingdom''. Contrary to Chancellor Metternich, he encouraged Czech cultural and civic-national movements, exemplified by the founding of the Prague National Museum in 1818. Kolowrat's rivalry with Metternich intensified when in 1826 the emperor called him to

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

, where he was elevated to lead the Austrian State Council responsible for the Interior and Finances. The tensions between him and the chancellor continued: while Metternich favored a strong army, Kolowrat reduced the military budget.Rothenburg, G. ''The Army of Francis Joseph''. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1976. p 10. After the accession of Francis' incapable son Ferdinand I to the throne in 1835, Kolowrat together with Metternich led the

Secret State Conference {{Notability, date=October 2022 The Secret State Conference (german: Geheime Staatskonferenz) was the ''de jure'' advisory body to Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and the ''de facto'' ruling cabinet of the Austrian Empire from 1836 to 1848, during ...

, the ''de facto'' government of the Empire from 1836 to 1848. However, the continuous disagreement between the two leaders palsied the Austrian politics and ultimately contributed to collapse of the "Metternich system". Upon the outbreak of the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

, Metternich had to resign. A ministers' conference was established and Kolowrat assumed the newly created office of an Austrian

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 ...

, which he nevertheless laid down after only one month between 3–5 April, officially for health reasons. Kolowrat retired to private life; he died in Vienna aged 83. With his death, the Liebsteinsky branch of the Kolowrat dynasty became extinct.

Decorations

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 marriag ...

* Order of Leopold * Order of St. Andrew * Order of St. Anna *

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

* Order of the White Eagle *

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky ( ''orden Alexandra Nevskogo'') is an order of merit of the Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky, Franz Anton 1778 births 1861 deaths 19th-century Ministers-President of Austria Politicians from Prague Bohemian nobility Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria