Ferdinand von Trauttmansdorff

Prince Ferdinand von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg (1749–1827) was an Austrian diplomat and statesman. From 1787 to 1789 he was Minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands, ruling on behalf of Emperor Joseph II. By birth he was a member of the House of Trauttmansdorff. Early life Ferdinand was born in Vienna on 12 January 1749, as son of Count Franz Norbert von Trauttmansdorff (1705-1786) and his second wife, Countess Maria Anna von Herberstein (1723-1815). He had one full sister, Countess Maria Antonie von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg (1746-1817), who died unmarried. His half-siblings with his father's first wife Countess Florence Josèphe de Gavre (1708-1742) included Countess Maria Theresia von Lamberg (1727-1755), Countess Maria Anna von Trauttmansdorff (1736-1788), Count Josef Wenzel von Trauttmansdorff (1739-1769) and Countess Maria Amalie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1741-1808). Life He studied at the University of Vienna and served in the Reichskammergericht in Wetzlar. At his brother's death in 1774, he became the Head of the family. He was made a Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece in 1789. Austrian Netherlands In 1780, he was appointed Austrian minister in Regensburg, and in 1785 imperial ambassador to the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz. In 1787, he was appointed the emperor's minister plenipotentiary in the Austrian Netherlands, effectively head of the government.