Manfred von Clary und Aldringen
AustriaLife and Ancestry
Heinrich Alfred Clam-Martinic, the Austrian statesman, was born in 1863 into a prominent Bohemian princely family, the Clam und Aldringen. His maternal grandmother was Dolly Fikelmon, a descendant of Russian field marshal Kutuzov. His father, Edmund Moritz, and brother, Siegfried, also served as Austro-Hungarian diplomats.
Government Career
In 1884, Clam-Martinic married Franziska Pejacsevich, a member of the Croatian branch of the Esterhazy family. After studying law at the University of Vienna, he entered government service in 1877. He held various positions, including District Governor of Wiener Neustadt and Governor (Landpresident) of Austrian Silesia.
State Governor
In 1898, Clam-Martinic was appointed Governor (Statthalter) of Styria, a post he held until the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. He made significant reforms to the region's administration, established an emergency fund, and implemented tuberculosis control measures.
Minister-President
From October 2 to December 21, 1899, Clam-Martinic served as Minister-President of Cisleithania, the western half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He also held the position of Minister of Agriculture. During his brief tenure, he faced a political crisis over the Language Ordinance, which would have required civil servants to be fluent in both German and Czech in mixed-language territories.
Later Career
After his term as Minister-President, Clam-Martinic returned to Styria and held various positions, including director of the Red Cross during World War I. He was a member of the House of Lords of the Cisleithanian parliament for many years. After the empire's dissolution, he retired from public life and lived on his family estates in Austria and Czechoslovakia.
