Francis II Francis was the last Holy Roman emeror. He was the father of Marie Louise. In 1804, anticipating the fall of the holy Roman empire, he assumed the title of emperor of Austria.

Ferdinand I- Fredinand was the successor of Francis II. He was a weak ruler, and in 1848 he abdicated the throne to Francis Joseph because revolutions threatened the country.

Francis Joseph- Francis Joseph was the successor of Ferdinand I. He restablished Austrian dominance in the German Confederation.

Prince Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar von Metternich- Born in 1773, Metternich first came to Austria after fleeing revolutionary France in 1794. He then served the Habsburgs, first as the Envoy to the Congress of Rastadt (1797), then as the ambassador to Saxony (1801), Prussia (1803), and Nepoleonic France (1806).

He formulated the principal ideas at the Congress of Viena in 1815, and remained in the political limelight until he was driven from power by the revolution of 1848, and he died on June 11, 1859.

He arranged the marriage of Austrian archduchess Marie Louise to Napoleon, with ulterior motives to renew the war with France. His ideal situation was to have a monarchy that shared power with the traditional priviliged classes of society.

Metternich was a leader of not only Austria, but all of Europe as well. He was against liberalism, nationalism, and revolution. He wanted to preserve all conservative powers and destroy democratic movements. Metternich was very vain and indolent often taking credit for policies that he didn't formulate. His domineering, crafty personality let him rule Europe for over fourty years.