Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg

Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz (1711–1794) was a Habsburg statesman born in Vienna, one of nineteen children. Originally destined for the Church, he studied law and diplomacy after his elder brother died.

He secured Sardinian support for Maria Theresa at Turin in 1742, later served as minister in the Austrian Netherlands, and was sent as ambassador to Versailles in 1750.

As State Chancellor from 1753 he turned that diplomacy into the Treaty of Versailles of 1756, joining Austria to France against Prussia. He directed Habsburg foreign policy until 1792 and was made a prince of the Empire in 1764.