Franz Joseph, Prince of Oppolzer
The Prince of Oppolzer | |
|---|---|
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| 4th Premier of Werania | |
| In office 7 October 1860 – 14 March 1867 | |
| Monarch | Adalbert |
| Preceded by | Ferdinand Karl von Schönborn-Buchheim |
| Succeeded by | Ludwig Gustav von Middendorff |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 June 1808 Siegberg, Cislania |
| Died | 14 March 1867 (aged 58) Westbrücken, Werania |
| Political party | Leftist Bloc |
| Spouse | Josephine Caroline und Rothenlöwen |
Other offices held
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Xaver Franz Joseph Gerhard, Prince of Oppolzer (12 June 1808 - 14 March 1867) was a Weranian aristocrat and statesmen who served as the fourth Premier of Werania from 1860 to his death as well as serving various times in ministries. He is best known for his role in the suppression of the Easter Revolution as interior minister and for later as premier expanding the Weranian colonial empire and helping formulate an alliance with Etruria.
Oppolzer came from one of the most powerful noble families in Cislania and was a confidante of Ulrich von Bayrhoffer during Weranian Unification. He would become Werania's first public works minister in 1842, a position mainly concerned with railway construction and aligned himself with von Bayrhoffer and pan-Weranicists in the Bundestag. When von Bayrhoffer returned to power after a brief absence in 1850 he appointed Oppolzer Interior Minister. A moderate liberal Oppolzer as interior minister supported political reform and took a relaxed approach to censorship. During the War of the Triple Alliance he was regarded as being amongst the more dovish within the government and strongly supported the Torrazza accords that ended the war.
Following the war Oppolzer authorised the use of force on republican protesters which triggered the Tuesday Massacre and the Easter Revolution when republicans and socialists revolted in the city of Wiesstadt. Although Oppolzer supported the use of armed repression towards the revolutionaries he opposed the tactics used by Adolf von Hoetzsch. He was dismissed as interior minister following the fall of the second von Bayrhoffer government in July 1856 becoming president of the House of Lords.
In 1860 the monarch Adalbert invited Oppolzer to lead a liberal cabinet after the conservatives lost favour, with Oppolzer taking the opportunity. Oppolzer was a reformist committed to the ideals of free trade, lassiez-faire economics and liberal imperialism. As premier Oppolzer launched reforms to cut wasteful spending and reduce patronage. On the domestic front he reversed some of the more repressive measure he himself had introduced during the Easter Revolution although did not abolish censorship entirely.
In foreign affairs Oppolzer supported the notion of constraining the power of the Kirenian-Gaullican axis. To this end he supported the creation of an alliance with Etruria and with deepening the one with Estmere to ensure Gaullica was encircle from both the north and south. However his Soravophobia led to tensions with the new Soravian republic under Eduard Olsov. In colonial affairs Oppolzer was more successful overseeing the expansion of colonial outposts in Silberküste and Nainan whilst supporting commercial relations with the Asterian powers. Oppolzer would die in office in 1867, the first Weranian premier to do so.
Oppolzer today is often ranked as one of Werania's most effective premiers with his tenure marked by domestic prosperity and liberty and peace abroad. For decades after his death Oppolzer was seen as the epitome of Weranian liberalism - however he was long ridiculed by conservative opponents for his sordid personal life and alleged naiveite. More recent criticism focuses on his unabashed imperialism and firm belief in the "white mans burden". Nevertheless historians continue to rate him highly.
