Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand, Erzherzog (Graz, 1863-1914, Sarajevo), also known as Franz Ferdinand von Österreich-Este, heir to the Austrian throne from 1896, and from 1898 responsible for Austro-Hungarian military affairs; he introduced reforms aimed at modernization, and became Inspector General in 1913. His uncle, the Emperor Franz Joseph, who disliked him, kept him at a distance for other administrative functions. In politics Franz Ferdinand was opposed to Hungarian separatism, and cultivated the German alliance. He made a morganatic marriage with the Gräfin von Chotek (Herzogin von Hohenberg in 1909) of which the Emperor disapproved. Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, together with his wife, by a Serbian nationalist on 28 June 1914; the outrage led to the outbreak of the 1914-18 War five weeks later.
