Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen (30 May 1852

Palais Mollard-Clary Palais Mollard-Clary is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the first district Innere Stadt, at Herrengasse 9. It was built from 1686 to 1689 for Imperial Count Franz Maximilian von Mollard (1621-1690). In 1760, it was bought by ...

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12 February 1928 Castle Herrnau,

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) was an

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nobleman and statesman. He served as the 16th Minister-President of Cisleithania (therefore the 28th

Minister-President of Austria The minister-president of Austria was the head of government of the Austrian Empire from 1848, when the office was created in the course of the March Revolution. Previously, executive power rested with an Austrian State Council, headed by the emp ...

overall).

Biography

Family

He was born into a prominent Austro-Hungarian princely family of

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origin (the

Clary-Aldringen The House of Clary und Aldringen, also known as Clary-Aldringen, is one of the most prominent Austro-Hungarian princely families. Originally from Friuli, Northern Italy, one branch of the family moved to the County of Tyrol around 1500 and to the ...

s), the son of ''Fürst'' (prince) Edmund Moritz and ''Fürstin'' (princess) Elisabeth-Alexandrine von Clary-und-Aldringen (born countess de Ficquelmont). He was the younger brother of ''Fürst'' Siegfried (1848–1929), a prominent

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, and the grandson of Count Charles-Louis de Ficquelmont (1777–1857), 2nd Minister-President of the Austrian Empire. In 1884, in Vienna, he married ''Gräfin'' (countess) Franziska Pejácsevich von Veröcze. She was heiress of one of the most powerful families of the

Croatian nobility Croatian nobility (; ) was a privileged social class in Croatia during the Ancient history, Antiquity and Middle Ages, Medieval periods of the country's history. Noble families in the Kingdom of Croatia (disambiguation), Kingdom of Croatia inclu ...

, descending from the princes Esterházy von Galántha. The couple had two children.

Political career

Count Clary-und-Aldringen studied law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

before starting his political career. The

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

was dominated by a small circle of high nobility familiessee

List of princes of Austria-Hungary This page lists princely families in the territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whether extant or extinct. The style of address was ''Durchlaucht'' (Serene Highness); also used was ''Fürstliche Gnaden'' (Princely Grace). The Austrian princely ...

and

List of counts of Austria-Hungary This page lists comital families in the territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whether extant or extinct. Mediatized counts (''Reichsgrafen'') were entitled to the style of ''Erlaucht'' (Illustrious Highness), while others bore the style of ...

that had great power and enormous riches and thus played a major role in politics and diplomacy. Count Manfred is the perfect example of such an influence. On February 22, 1896, he became Governor of the ''Länd'' of

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...

, a key office in a strategic region for the Empire: not only was the ''Länd'' rich in natural resource, it also lay at the border with both the

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and

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Empires. Austrian Silesia was involved in the long power struggle between these three empires and a subject of central European

irredentism Irredentism () is one State (polity), state's desire to Annexation, annex the territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by Ethnicity, ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the ...

s. In 1898, Count Manfred became Governor of the ''Länd'' of

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

and its representative in the '' Reischrat'' ("Imperial Council"). This was office of major importance, which he held until the fall of the Empire in 1918. Styria was one of the powerhouses of the Austro-Hungarian economy: the ''Länd'' was a center of industry and agriculture, and its capital

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was one of the Empire's most populous cities. From October 2 to December 21, 1899, Count Clary-und-Aldringen served as

, following in the steps of his grandfather, Count Charles-Louis de Ficquelmont.

Later life

After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following the defeat of the

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during the autumn of 1918, Count Manfred resigned from all his official offices and spent his remaining years on his estates in Austria and Czechia (

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

). On February 12, 1928, Count Manfred von Clary-und-Aldringen died in his

residence of Schoss Herrnau (Herrnau Castle). Count Clary und Aldringen is widely seen as a modernizer and has been regarded as both one of the most prominent statesman of the end of the

and a symbol of the influence of the Austro-Hungarian high nobility in politics at the turn of the 19th century. He is also well known for having successfully fought

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

when he was president of the Austrian

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Cisleithania Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...

Honours

* : ** Knight of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...

, ''1890'' **

Knight of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown () was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy ...

, 1st Class, ''1905'' ** Grand Cross of the

Imperial Order of Leopold Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Impe ...

, ''1915'' ** War Cross for Civil Merits, 1st Class ** Merit Star of the

Decoration for Services to the Red Cross The Decoration for Services to the Red Cross (''Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um das Rote Kreuz'') was an Austro-Hungarian award instituted on 17 August 1914 by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, Franz Joseph I to mark the 50th anniversary of the ...

, with War Decoration ** Jubilee Cross for Civil State Officials ** Bronze Jubilee Medal for the Armed Forces ** Jubilee Medal for Civil State Officials * : Knight of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

Notes

Bibliography

* * : ''Badeni – Thun – Clary-Aldringen – Eulenburg. Das österreichische Regierungssystem in der Krise der Jahre 1897–1899.'' In: Gernot Peter Obersteiner (Hrsg.): ''Festschrift Gerhard Pferschy zum 70. Geburtstag.'' Historische Landeskommission für Steiermark, Graz 2000, , S. 327–349. * : ''Manfred Graf Clary und Aldringen. Der letzte k. k. Statthalter in Steiermark. Sein Leben und Wirken.'' Graz 1952

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clary-Aldringen, Manfred von 1852 births 1928 deaths 19th-century minister-presidents of Austria 19th-century Austrian people Austrian people of German Bohemian descent Austrian people of Russian descent Politicians from Vienna

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction. Byr ...

University of Vienna alumni Knights of the Order of Franz Joseph