His foreign policy goals foresaw increased cooperation with Germany and rapprochement with Russia with the aim of creating an alliance between Europe’s conservative monarchies.Īs General Inspector of the Imperial and Royal Army, Franz Ferdinand was well-informed about conditions within the armed forces. However, his rejection of the federalization of the Monarchy comes in for negative criticism: Franz Ferdinand regarded the strengthening of centralism and the might of the army as the most important means towards consolidating Habsburg power in the face of the centrifugal forces of nationalism. His criticism of dualism in its favouring of the German-Austrian and Magyar ethnic groups above other nationalities, together with his demands for a more inclusive treatment of the Slavs, are seen in a positive light. The relationship between uncle and nephew was characterized by mutual lack of understanding and antipathy.įranz Ferdinand developed independent ideas about the future of the Monarchy, ideas that have received conflicting assessment from historians. However, Franz Joseph systematically excluded the archduke, who was not a popular figure, from the political decision-making process.
It was not until his health improved that Franz Ferdinand was officially designated heir to the throne and at the same time appointed representative of the ageing emperor in military affairs. The reason for this lay in Franz Ferdinand’s state of health, which had been debilitated by lung disease to such an extent that it was thought unwise to specify the emperor’s successor. The archduke pursued the military career typical for male members of the dynasty in the nineteenth century.Įver since the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, Franz Ferdinand had been regarded as the prospective successor to his uncle Franz Joseph, although he was not officially proclaimed heir to the throne until 1898. Franz Ferdinand’s sickly, epileptic mother died at a young age of lung disease.įranz Ferdinand’s father was extremely conservative and a devout Catholic, and his son was accordingly given a strict Catholic upbringing. Maria Annunziata was a granddaughter of Field Marshal Archduke Karl and thus half Habsburg on her mother’s side. Born in Graz on 18 December 1863, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, a younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph, and his second wife, Maria Annunziata of Naples and Sicily (called Ciolla 1843–1871), a daughter of King Ferdinand II of von Naples and Sicily from the House of Bourbon and Archduchess Maria Theresia.