thumb|Johann Philipp von Stadion
Johann Philipp Carl Joseph Stadion, Count von Warthausen (18 June 1763 in Mainz – 15 May 1824 in Baden) was a statesman, foreign minister, and diplomat who served the Habsburg empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He was also founder of Austria's central bank Oesterreichische Nationalbank. He was sovereign Count of Stadion-Warthausen from 1787 until 1806, when his lands were mediatised to the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Early life
Johann was born as the younger surviving son of Count Franz Konrad von Stadion-Warthausen (1736–1787) and his wife, Baroness Maria Johanna Ludowika Esther Zobel von Giebelstadt (1740–1803).
Life and career
thumb|right|Johann Philipp von Stadion receives from [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria, the charter for the foundation of Austria's central bank Oesterreichische Nationalbank in Vienna. Bronze medal for the 100th anniversary on 1 June 1916; obverse. Medallist: Stefan Schwartz.]]
In 1787–1790, he was ambassador in Stockholm, then in London from 1790 to 1793. After some years of retirement, he was entrusted with a mission to the Prussian court (1800–1803), where he endeavoured in vain to effect an alliance with Austria. He had greater success as envoy at Saint Petersburg (1803–1805), where he played a large part in the formation of the third coalition against Napoleon (1805). Notwithstanding the failure of this alliance, he was made foreign minister and, in conjunction with Archduke Charles of Austria, pursued a policy of quiet preparation for a fresh trial of strength with France.
In 1808, he abandoned the policy of procrastination and hastened the outbreak of a new war. Among them was Franz Stadion, Count von Warthausen, a prominent liberal statesman of the 1840s.
Death
He died on 15 May 1824 in Baden bei Wien, Austria.
Acknowledgements
- In 1874, an alley in Vienna's 1st district was renamed "Stadiongasse" in honour of Johann Philipp von Stadion.
- Since 1897, the Hotel Graf Stadion on Buchfeldgasse Nr. 5 in Vienna's 8th district Josefstadt bears the statesman's name.
Further reading
- See A Beer, Zehn Jahre österreichischer Politik, 1801-1810 (Leipzig, 1877); Die Finanzen Oesterreichs im 19. Jahrhundert (Prague, 1877); Krones, Zur Geschichte Österreichs, 1792-1876 (Gotha, 1886).