Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz

Wenzel Anton Graf [German title|Graf)] Kaunitz ( _cs. Václav Antonín hrabě Kounic-Rietberg) (February 2, 1711 – June 27, 1794) was an Austrian statesman.

Kaunitz was born in Vienna to an old Bohemian noble family settled in Moravia. It was intended that Kaunitz should become a clergyman when he was a boy, but he soon decided otherwise and studied law instead. During his career, he was Austria's ambassador in Turin (1741), then minister in the Austrian Netherlands during the absence of its ruler Prince Charles of Lorraine, October 1744 to June 1746; he was virtually the head of government after the death of the governor, Archduchess Maria-Anna, sister of Maria Theresa in December 1744. [CathEncy|wstitle=Wenzel Anton Kaunitz] The following French advance forced his retreat with the government of the Austrian Netherlands, first to Antwerp, then to Aachen, where Kaunitz represented Austria at the "Congress of Aachen" at the close of the War of the Austrian Succession (1748) and was ambassador at Versailles 1750-53, where he cooperated in laying the groundwork for the future Bourbon-Habsburg alliance.

Kaunitz's most important and extremely influential office was that of the chancellor of state and minister of foreign affairs, which he held 1753-92 and where he had Maria Theresa's full trust. Thanks in large part to him, Habsburg Austria entered a treaty (1756) with her old enemy France (and later Russia and Sweden) against the Kingdom of Prussia to win back Silesia, which Austria lost to Prussia during the Silesian Wars.Kaunitz founded the Austrian Council of State, the "Staatsrat", 1761, overseeing the reorganization of the army under Daun and worked towards the goal of subjecting the church to the state. He followed the thoughts of the Age of Enlightenment and among his aims was also the better education of the commoners.

From 1764 Kaunitz was styled Reichsfürst [German title|Reichsfürst] von Kaunitz-Rietberg (Imperial Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg), his father having been Maximilian Ulrich von Kaunitz, and his mother having been Marie Ernestine von Ostfriesland-Rietberg.

Although Joseph II generally shared such ideas, his reforms moved too fast and too thoroughly for Kaunitz. whose influence grew less during Joseph's reign (1765–90), and even less when Joseph's brother Leopold II reigned; he resigned his office at the accession of Francis II. Kaunitz died in Vienna.

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