Felix zu Schwarzenberg

Austria state institutions Counter-revolutionary forces 1800–1852 ○ Natural causes

Austrian minister-president from November 1848 who replaced the emperor, called in the Russians against Hungary and restored the empire

Born in 1800 at Český Krumlov Castle in Bohemia, the second son of Prince Joseph of Schwarzenberg, he entered the diplomatic service after a short military interlude, became a protégé of Metternich and served in the Austrian embassies at Saint Petersburg, London, Paris, Turin and Naples. When revolution broke out in 1848 he hurried to Lombardy–Venetia to join Radetzky, and on 21 November 1848 he became minister-president and foreign minister. His first step was to replace the incapacitated Ferdinand I with his nephew Franz Joseph. The March Constitution of 1849 turned the Habsburg Empire into a unitary, centralised state, and he called in the Russian army to help crush the Hungarian revolt. He forced the Punctation of Olmütz on Prussia, halting its plan to unify Germany under its own lead, and died in office in Vienna after a stroke in 1852.

Also known as: Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg