Adolf von Auersperg

Adolf Carl Daniel von Auersperg (* July 21, 1821 at Wlaschim Castle in Wlaschim , Bohemia ; † January 5, 1885 at Goldegg Castle in Neidling , Lower Austria ) was under Emperor Franz Joseph I from November 25, 1871 to February 15, 1879 kk Prime Minister of the Austrian half of Austria-Hungary .

Prince Adolf Carl Daniel von Auersperg, lithograph by Adolf Dauthage

Life

Adolf von Auersperg came from the old Austrian noble family Auersperg , some of which had moved from Carniola to Bohemia in the 18th and 19th centuries. His parents were Karl Wilhelm II of Auersperg , 7th Prince of Auersperg (1782–1827), and Friederike von Lenthe (1791–1860). His maternal great-grandfather was General Levin August von Bennigsen . Adolf's elder brother Carlos, 8th Prince of Auersperg , was in the years 1867 and 1868 kk prime minister.

Adolf von Auersperg studied law and then served as an officer in the cavalry for 14 years, most recently with the rank of major. In 1867, due to his possessions in Bohemia , he was elected to the Bohemian Landtag by the large estates loyal to the Constitution there and appointed by the Emperor to Colonel Landmarschall (= Chairman of the Landtag and head of the provincial administration appointed by the Crown Land). In 1870 he was appointed by the emperor as state president (= governor) to Salzburg. In 1871 he became an honorary citizen of Salzburg . From 1871 to 1879 he was the Austrian Prime Minister of the Kaiser. In 1878 Franz Joseph I awarded him the Order of the Golden Fleece , the exclusive house order of the dynasty.

In 1873, the Adolf Auersperg ministry implemented a reform of the electoral law, which resulted in nationwide elections to the Reichsrat in Cisleithanien instead of delegates being sent by the state parliaments, and which allowed all male citizens over the age of 24 to vote for the Reichsrat if they had a minimum tax rate of 10 guilders per year paid. This gave about 6% of the population the right to vote.

Also by his government in 1876 the constitutionally announced administrative court was established in 1867 , which still exists in the Republic of Austria today.

Auersperg was ultimately unable to push through the increase in the army budget and the approval of the German liberal majority for the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and therefore resigned with his cabinet at the beginning of 1879, after the occupation had nevertheless taken place in 1878. It was the last old liberal government.

From 1879 to 1885 he was President of the Supreme Audit Office of Cisleithanien at the request of the Emperor .

Marriages and offspring

Adolf von Auersperg married Aloysia Freiin Mladota von Solopisk (1820–1849) for the first time; the connection remained childless. From his second marriage to Johanna Festetics von Tolna (1830-1884) came several descendants, including:

1. Karl Maria Alexander von Auersperg , later 9th Prince of Auersperg (1859–1927)
2. Johanna von Auersperg (1860–1922)
3. Ernestine Maria Wilhelmine von Auersperg (1862–1935)
4. Aglae Franziska von Auersperg (1868–1919)
5. Franz Maria Johann Joseph von Auersperg (1869–1918)

literature

• Auersperg Adolf Prince. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 35.
• Gustav Adolf Metnitz:  Auersperg, Adolf Carl Daniel Fürst. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 436 ( digitized version ). ( Correction )
• Alfred Ableitinger: Auersperg, Adolf Wilhelm Daniel Fürst . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe. Volume 1, Munich 1974, p. 110 f.

Web links

• Entry on Adolf von Auersperg in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )