Richard, Count Belcredi

Richard, Count Belcredi (born February 12, 1823, Ingrowitz, near Svitavy [Zwittau], Moravia—died December 2, 1902, Gmunden, Austria) was a statesman of the Austrian Empire who worked for a federal constitution under the Habsburg monarchy, taking the Swiss constitution as his model. His “Ministry of Counts” (July 27, 1865–Feb. 3, 1867) advocated conservative federalism under which the Slavs’ historic rights would be recognized instead of subsumed by those of the Germans and Magyars.

Born into a Moravian landowning family, Belcredi entered the civil service (1842) and became governor of Silesia (1860) and Statthalter (imperial representative) at Prague (1864). After succeeding Anton von Schmerling as prime minister, he revoked (Sept. 20, 1865) the “February Patent” of 1861 (intended to constitute Austria as a centralized, German-speaking state) as a concession to the Slavic groups, especially the Czechs. He also established Czech as a language of instruction in the Bohemian schools, where only German had been permitted. These measures angered the Germans who had the confidence of the emperor Francis Joseph I.

The success of Belcredi’s Slav policy in conciliating the Czechs to rule from Vienna was obscured by Austria’s defeat in the Seven Weeks’ War with Prussia and Italy (1866). The postwar settlement between Austria and Hungary which precluded Slav autonomy, caused Belcredi to resign. Fearing Belcredi’s influence among the Slavs, the Emperor forbade him to return to his home in Moravia. Later (1881–95) he served as president of the Austrian administrative court.