Klemens von Metternich

Klemens von Metternich (1773–1859) was an Austrian statesman and diplomat, foreign minister and chancellor. Born in Koblenz and educated at Strasbourg and Mainz, he served Austria as envoy to Saxony, Prussia and Napoleonic France before becoming foreign minister in 1809.

He arranged Napoleon's marriage to Archduchess Marie Louise, then brought Austria into the War of the Sixth Coalition. He led the Austrian delegation at the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815 and, as chancellor from 1821, shaped the conservative Concert of Europe.

Opposed to liberalism, he used censorship and spies to suppress unrest at home. The 1848 revolutions forced him from office; he returned from exile in 1851 and died in Vienna in 1859.