Johann Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (28 May 1741 – 30 August 1810) was a statesman of the Habsburg monarchy and the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

Life

Cobenzl was born in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, Carniola, the son of treasurer Count Guidobald von Cobenzl (1716–1797) and his wife Countess Maria Benigna von Montrichier (1720–1793). The Cobenzl family, of Carinthian origin, was elevated to '' Freiherren'' noble rank in 1588 and raised to

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 1722. His uncle Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl was the Habsburg

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...

in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The pe ...

and his cousin Count Ludwig von Cobenzl (1753–1809) served as Foreign Minister of the Habsburg monarchy from 1801 to 1805. His father Guidobald von Cobenzl lived mostly in Gorizia, where he was a great supporter of culture and arts. Philipp von Cobenzl grew up in Gorizia and at Predjama Castle (''Burg Lueg'') near Postojna (''Adelsberg''). He joined the Habsburg diplomatic service. In 1777 he accompanied Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

(in the disguise of a "Count Falkenstein") on his visit to his sister Queen Marie Antoinette in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Immediately afterwards, Cobenzl travelled to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

as a Habsburg envoy, but was not able to prevent the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

king Frederic the Great from entering the

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian br ...

. In 1779 he concluded the Peace of Teschen and assumed the office of an Austrian vice-chancellor, eventually succeeding State Chancellor Prince Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg in 1792. However, already in March 1793 upon discords regarding the

Second Partition of Poland The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of three partitions (or partial annexations) that ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian W ...

, he had to resign from office in favour of Baron Johann Amadeus Francis de Paula von Thugut. From 1801 Cobenzl worked as Habsburg ambassador in Paris. He retired in 1805, and then lived in his

Döbling Döbling () is the 19th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 19. Bezirk, Döbling, Doebling). It is located on the north end from the central districts, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing. Döbling has some heavily populate ...

residence north of Vienna. He was a patron of the arts, acquainted with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and greatly contributed to the education and career of the Slovenian Neoclassicist painter Franz Caucig. In 1809, he informed

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

about the demographics of the newly established Illyrian Provinces. Upon his death, the Cobenzl noble dynasty became extinct. He was buried in the Vienna St. Marx Cemetery. A street in the Döbling district was named after him in 1894.

Life

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Further reading