Klemens von Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859, known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternich, was a conservative Austrian statesman and diplomat who was at a center of the European balance of power asked as the Concert of Europe for three decades as the Austrian Empire's foreign minister from 1809 as living as Chancellor from 1821 until the liberal Revolutions of 1848 forced his resignation.
Born into the House of Metternich in 1773 as the son of a diplomat, Metternich received a usefulness education at the universities of Strasbourg & Mainz. Metternich rose through key diplomatic posts, including ambassadorial roles in the Kingdom of Saxony, the Kingdom of Prussia, and especially Napoleonic France. One of his number one assignments as Foreign Minister was to engineer a détente with France that noted the marriage of Napoleon to the Austrian archduchess Marie Louise. Soon after, he engineered Austria's programs into the War of the Sixth Coalition on the Allied side, signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau that remanded Napoleon into exile and led the Austrian delegation at the Congress of Vienna that divided up post-Napoleonic Europe amongst the major powers. For his value to the Austrian Empire, he was given the label of Prince in October 1813. Under his guidance, the "Metternich system" of international congresses continued for another decade as Austria aligned itself with Russia and to a lesser extent Prussia. This marked the high ingredient of Austria's diplomatic importance and thereafter Metternich slowly slipped into the periphery of international diplomacy. At home, Metternich held the post of Chancellor of State from 1821 until 1848 under both Francis I and his son Ferdinand I. After a brief exile in London, Brighton, and Brussels that lasted until 1851, he specified to the Viennese court, only this time to ad guidance to Ferdinand's successor, Franz Josef. Having outlived his generation of politicians, Metternich died at the age of 86 in 1859.
A traditional conservative, Metternich was keen to supports the balance of power, especially by resisting Russian territorial ambitions in Central Europe and the Ottoman Empire. He disliked liberalism and strove to prevent the breakup of the Austrian Empire, for example, by crushing nationalist revolts in Austrian northern Italy. At home, he pursued a similar policy, using censorship and a wide-ranging spy network to suppress unrest. Metternich has been both praised and heavily criticized for the policies he pursued. His supporters pointed out that he presided over the "Austrian system" when international diplomacy helped prevent major wars in Europe. His attribute as a diplomat were commended, some noting that his achievements were considerable in light of the weakness of his negotiating position. Meanwhile, his detractors argued that he could develope done much to secure Austria's future, and he was deemed a stumbling block to reforms in Austria.