Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust

On Beust fell also the chief responsibility for governing the country after order was restored, and he was the author of the so-called coup d'état of June 1850 by which the new constitution was overthrown. The vigor he showed in repressing all resistance to the government, especially that of the university, and in reorganizing the police, made him one of the most unpopular men among the Liberals, and his name became synonymous with the worst form of reaction, but it is not clear that the attacks on him were justified.[1]

After this he was chiefly occupied with foreign affairs, and he soon became one of the most conspicuous figures in German politics. He was the leader of that party which hoped to maintain the independence of the smaller states, and was the opponent of all attempts on the part of Prussia to attract them into a separate union. In 1849-1850 he was compelled to bring Saxony into the "three kings' union" of Prussia, Hanover and Saxony, but he was careful to keep open a loophole for withdrawal, of which he speedily availed himself. In the crisis of the Erfurt Union, Saxony was on the side of Austria, and he supported the restoration of the diet of the German Confederation.[1]

In 1854 he took part in the Bamberg conferences, in which the smaller German states claimed the right to direct their own policy independently of Austria or of Prussia, and he was the leading supporter of the idea of the Trias, i.e., that the smaller states should form a closer union among themselves against the preponderance of the great monarchies. In 1863 he came forward as a warm supporter of the claims of the prince of Augustenburg to Schleswig-Holstein. He was the leader of the party in the German diet which refused to recognize the settlement of the Danish question effected in 1852 by the Treaty of London, and in 1864 he was appointed representative of the diet at the peace conference in London.[1]

He was thus thrown into opposition to the policy of Bismarck, and he was exposed to violent attacks in the Prussian press as a particularist, i.e., a supporter of the independence of the smaller states. Already in the aftermath of the Second Schleswig War, the expulsion of the Saxon troops from Rendsburg nearly led to a conflict with Berlin. On the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, Beust accompanied King John of Saxony on his escape to Prague, and thence to Vienna, where they were received by allied Emperor Franz Joseph with the news of Königgrätz. Beust undertook a mission to Paris to procure the help of Napoleon III. When the terms of peace were discussed he resigned, for Bismarck refused to negotiate with him.[1]

After the victory of Prussia there was no office for Beust in an emerging Lesser Germany, and his public career seemed to be closed, but he quite unexpectedly received an invitation from Franz Joseph to become his foreign minister. It was a bold decision, for Beust was not only a stranger to Austria, but also a Protestant. He threw himself into his new position with great energy. Despite the opposition of the Slavs who foresaw that "dualism would lead Austria to downfall, negotiations with Hungary were resumed and rapidly concluded by Beust.[2]

Impatient to take his revenge on Bismarck for Sadowa, he persuaded Francis Joseph to accept the Magyar demands which he had till then rejected. [...] Beust deluded himself that he could rebuild both the [Germanic Federation] and the Holy Roman Empire and negotiated the Ausgleich as a necessary preliminary for the revanche on Prussia. [...] As a compromise with Hungary for the purposes of revanche on Prussia, the Ausgleich could not be otherwise than a surrender to the Magyar oligarchy."[2]

When difficulties came he went himself to Budapest, and acted directly with the Hungarian leaders. Beusts's desired revanche against Prussia did not materialize because, in 1870, the Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy was "vigorously opposed."[3]

In 1867 he also held the position of Austrian minister-president, and he carried through the measures by which parliamentary government was restored. He also carried on the negotiations with the Pope concerning the repeal of the concordat, and in this matter also did much by a liberal policy to relieve Austria from the pressure of institutions which had checked the development of the country. In 1868, after giving up his post as minister-president, he was appointed Chancellor of the empire (Reichskanzler), [4] and received the title of count. This was unusual, and he was the only statesman given the title of Chancellor between Metternich (1848) and Karl Renner (1918) (see Österreich-Lexikon). His conduct of foreign affairs, especially in the matter of the Balkan States and Crete, successfully maintained the position of the Empire. In 1869, he accompanied the Emperor on his expedition to the East. He was still to some extent influenced by the anti-Prussian feeling he had brought from Saxony.[1]

He maintained a close understanding with France, and there can be little doubt that he would have welcomed an opportunity in his new position of another struggle with his old rival Bismarck. In 1867, however, he helped to bring the Luxembourg Crisis to a peaceful termination. In 1870 he did not disguise his sympathy for France. The failure of all attempts to bring about an intervention of the powers, joined to the action of Russia in denouncing the Treaty of Frankfurt, was the occasion of his celebrated saying that he was nowhere able to find Europe. After the war was over he completely accepted the new organization of Germany.[1]

As early as December 1870 he had opened a correspondence with Bismarck with a view to establishing a good understanding with Germany. Bismarck accepted his advances with alacrity, and the new entente, which Beust announced to the Austro-Hungarian delegations in July 1871, was sealed in August by a friendly meeting of the two old rivals and enemies at Gastein.[1]

In 1871 Beust interfered at the last moment, together with Andrassy, to prevent the emperor accepting the pro-Czech federalist plans of Hohenwart. He was successful, but at the same time he was dismissed from office. The precise cause for this is not known, and no reason was given him.[1]