Alexander von Mensdorff-Pouilly, Prince Dietrichstein von Nicolsburg

Count Alexander Mensdorff-Pouilly (August 4, 1813, Coburg – February 14, 1871), was an Austrian general, diplomat and politician, including two years as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1864-1866) and one month's service as Minister-President of Austria.

Mensdorf-Pouilly, Lithograph by Josef Kriehuber, 1854

Early life

He was born as a son of Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Count Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly, a member of the House of Mensdorff-Pouilly. He entered the Austrian army in 1829 and was promoted to captain in 1836 and major in 1844. In 1848-49 he fought in the First Italian War of Independence and against the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. In 1849 he was promoted to colonel and the following year to major general. In 1851 he was appointed as tge Austrian commissioner to Schleswig-Holstein. In 1852 he became the Austrian ambassador to Russia. Mensdorff-Pouilly was promoted to Feldmarschallleutnant in 1858. During the Polish Uprising of 1863, Mensdorff-Pouilly served as the governor of Austrian Galicia.

Foreign Minister

Mensdorff-Pouilly was appointed as the Austrian Foreign Minister on 23 October 1864. Mensdorff-Pouilly's policies during his tenure as Foreign Minister for Emperor Franz Joseph were often largely a continuation of the conservative traditionalism of Rechberg, his predecessor. Mensdorff, like Rechberg, sought to maintain conservative dominance of the German Confederation through an alliance between Austria and Prussia (in which Prussia was the junior partner), and he steadfastly refused to consider British suggestions that Austria surrender Venetia to Italy.^[1] He was also a first cousin of Queen Victoria through the marriage of her aunt, his mother. After Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Mensdorff-Pouilly resigned his functions in November of that year. After his resignation he was appointed commanding general in Zagreb and Prague.

Family

He married Alexandrine "Aline" von Dietrichstein, heiress of Prince Joseph von Dietrichstein, with whom he had two sons:

• Prince Hugo Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg
• Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein

References

1. ^ F. R. Bridge, The Habsburg Monarchy Among the Great Powers, 1815-1918.

Preceded by Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria

Minister-President of Austria 1865

Succeeded by Count Belcredi

Preceded by Count Rechberg	Minister of Foreign Affairs 1864–1866	Succeeded by Count Beust

See also: Mensdorff-Pouilly, Mensdorff, Pouilly, Dietrichstein, Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein, and Nikolsburg (disambiguation)

Persondata
Name	Mensdorff-Pouilly, Alexander von
Alternative names
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Date of birth	August 4, 1813
Place of birth
Date of death	February 14, 1871
Place of death