Johann Philipp Carl Joseph Stadion, Count von Warthausen (18 June 1763 in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

– 15 May 1824,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

) was a statesman, foreign minister, and diplomat who served the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

empire during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He was also founder of Austria's central bank

Oesterreichische Nationalbank The (, , abbr. ) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Austria within the Eurosystem. It was the Austrian central bank from 1923 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1998, issuing the Austrian schilling, shilling. It star ...

. He was sovereign Count of Stadion-Warthausen from 1787 until 1806, when his lands were mediatised to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Early life

Johann was born as the younger surviving son of Count Franz Konrad von Stadion-Warthausen (1736–1787) and his wife, Baroness Maria Johanna Ludowika Esther Zobel von Giebelstadt (1740–1803).

Life and career

In 1787–1790, he was ambassador in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, then 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 ...

from 1790 to 1793. After some years of retirement, he was entrusted with a mission to the Prussian court (1800–1803), where he endeavoured in vain to effect an alliance with Austria. He had greater success as envoy at

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(1803–1805), where he played a large part in the formation of the third coalition against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(1805). Notwithstanding the failure of this alliance, he was made

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and, in conjunction with Archduke Charles of Austria, pursued a policy of quiet preparation for a fresh trial of strength with France. In 1808, he abandoned the policy of procrastination and hastened the outbreak of a new war. Stadion was encouraged by news from Spain regarding the rising of the Spanish population against French occupation and the defeat of a French army by Spanish general Francisco Castanos at Bailen. He was instrumental in persuading Emperor Francis of Austria to attempt to arouse popular resistance to Napoleon in Austria and Germany. The war that began in 1809 pitted Austria alone on the continent against Napoleonic France. The campaign saw the first major defeat of Napoleon at Aspern by the Archduke Charles, brother of the Emperor. Nonetheless, the French recovered and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Austrians at Wagram, one of the largest battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The unfortunate results of the campaign of 1809 compelled his resignation. He was succeeded as Foreign Minister by Klemens von Metternich, whom the Emperor had recalled from Paris. Nonetheless, in 1813, he was commissioned to negotiate the convention which finally overthrew Napoleon. The last ten years of his life were spent in a strenuous and partly successful attempt to reorganize the disordered finances of his country. As minister of finance (1815–1824), he founded Austria's central bank

in 1816.

Personal life

On 4 November 1773 in

, he married his cousin, Countess Maria Anna Philippine Walpurgis von Stadion-Thannhausen (1771–1841), daughter of Count Joseph Georg Johann von Stadion zu Thannhausen (1652-1742) and his wife, Baroness Maria Anna Wambolt von Umstadt (1687-1764). Together, they had eight children. Among them was

Franz Stadion, Count von Warthausen Franz Stadion, Graf von Warthausen (27 July 1806 – 8 June 1853), was an Austrian nobleman and a statesman, who served the Austrian Empire during the 1840s. Early life Franz was born in Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, cap ...

, a prominent liberal statesman of the 1840s.

Death

He died on 15 May 1824 in Baden bei Wien,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Acknowledgements

* In 1874, an

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

in Vienna's 1st district was renamed "Stadiongasse" in honour of Johann Philipp von Stadion. * Since 1897, the Hotel Graf Stadion on Buchfeldgasse Nr. 5 in Vienna's 8th district

Josefstadt Josefstadt (; ; "Joseph-Town") is the eighth district of Vienna (). It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later. Josefstadt is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and resi ...

bears the statesman's name.

Notes

* *See A Beer, ''Zehn Jahre österreichischer Politik, 1801-1810'' (Leipzig, 1877); Die Finanzen Oesterreichs im 19. Jahrhundert (Prague, 1877); Krones, ''Zur Geschichte Österreichs, 1792-1876'' (Gotha, 1886).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stadion, Johann Philipp 1763 births 1824 deaths People from Mainz 18th-century Austrian people 19th-century Austrian people People from the Austrian Empire of the Napoleonic Wars Politicians from the Austrian Empire Ministers of foreign affairs of the Austrian Empire Counts of Austria Members of the Württembergian Chamber of Lords Austrian people of German descent Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria