Franz Joseph I

Franz Joseph ascended the throne of the Austrian Empire in 1848. His concept of rulership was informed by a great sense of duty and mission. After the upheavals of the 1848 revolution he endeavoured to re-establish the legitimacy of monarchical rule and to hold together the multinational state that was threatening to break apart. He was forced to make far-reaching concessions, notably in the creation of the dual monarchy through the Compromise with Hungary in 1867 and in consenting to a constitution.