Otto von Habsburg (referred to as Otto Habsburg-Lothringen by the Austrian government, although this is not his legal name, as he is a German citizen), sometimes known as Archduke Otto of Austria (Franz Josef Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix René Ludwig Gaetano Pius Ignazius von Habsburg), born November 20, 1912, is the current head of the Habsburg family and the eldest son of Karl, the last Emperor of Austria and the last King of Hungary, and Empress/Queen Zita. November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1912 is a leap year starting on Monday. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ... Karl I, a. ... An emperor is a monarch and sovereign ruler of an empire or any other imperial realm. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. ... Otto von Habsburg, his son Karl, Cardinal Mindszenty and Ottos mother Zita (from left to right) in 1972 Zita of Bourbon-Parma (May 9, 1892 - March 14, 1989) was the last Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. ...

Otto and his great-granduncle Francis Joseph

Basic biography

Early life

Otto was born in Reichenau an der Rax, Lower Austria. In November 1916, Otto's father, Archduke Charles, on the death of his granduncle Franz Josef I, ascended to the throne and become Emperor Charles I of Austria and King Charles IV of Hungary while Otto himself, at the age of four, became Crown Prince of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. However, in 1918, at the end of the First World War, Karl had to abdicate, both monarchies were abolished, the Republics of Austria and Hungary founded instead, and the family were forced into exile. Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) is one of the nine federal states or Bundesländer in Austria. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph (in English also Francis Joseph) (August 18, 1830 - November 21, 1916) of the Habsburg Dynasty was Emperor of Austria and King of Bohemia from 1848 until 1916 and King of Hungary from 1867 until 1916. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Missing image Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... For related meanings see also Monarch (disambiguation) A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people that dont base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people living in that state or country. ...

Years in exile

Otto spent the following years in Switzerland and in Madeira, where Karl died prematurely in 1922, making Otto pretender to the throne at the age of ten. Meanwhile, the Austrian parliament had officially expelled the Habsburg dynasty and confiscated all the official property (Habsburgergesetz of April 3, 1919). In 1935 he graduated from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, having studied social and political science. For other uses of the word, see Madeira (disambiguation) Madeira Islands location. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A Pretender is a claimant to an abolished or already occupied throne. ... April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (or K. U. Leuven, or in English Catholic University of Leuven - also the translated name of its French-speaking sister university) is a Flemish university, located in the town of Leuven in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking (northern) region of Belgium. ...

Opposed Nazi government

Otto spent most of the war years in Washington, D.C. (1940-1944), after escaping from Austria to Portugal with a visa issued by the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux Aristides Sousa Mendes. A fervent patriot, he had opposed the Nazi "Anschluss" of Austria of 1938 and also fought Hitler's regime from America. After the war, he lived in exile in France and Spain. Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... City motto: Lilia sola regunt lunam undas castra leonem. ... Aristides Sousa Mendes (1885-1954) was a Portuguese diplomat, who fought against his own government for the safety of European Jews in the years previous to World War II. Aristides and his twin brother César Sousa Mendes were born in Cabanas de Viriato, a small village in the district... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... The general German term Anschluss often refers to the specific political incident Anschluss Österreichs, meaning the inclusion of Austria in a Greater Germany in 1938. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Führer und Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor) of Germany from 1933 to his death. ...

Early advocate of a United Europe

Well after the end of the Second World War, Otto finally renounced all claims to the Austrian throne (1961) and was eventually allowed to return to his home country in 1966. An early advocate of a unified Europe, he served from 1979 till 1999 as a Member of the European Parliament for the conservative German CSU party. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year—i. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... 1979 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU – ) is a conservative Germany. ...

Family life

Otto has been married since 1951 to Regina von Sachsen-Meiningen, Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, Duchess of Saxony. The couple have seven children and 22 grandchildren: 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

• Andrea (1953). Married Karl Hereditary Count von Neipperg.
• Monika (1954). Married Don Luis Gonzaga de Casanova-Cárdenas y Barón Duke de Santangelo, Marquess de Elche, Count de Lodosa. Has issue.
• Michaela (1954). Monika's twin sister. Married 1st Eric Teran d'Antin and 2nd Hubertus Count von Kageneck. Has issue from 1st marriage.
• Gabriela (1956). Married Christian Meister in 1978, divorced in 1997. Has issue.
• Walburga (1958). Married Archibald Count Douglas and has issue.
• Karl Habsburg (born January 11, 1961), who is to be the future head of the Habsburg family, married Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza (daughter of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza) in 1993. They have three children and permanently live in Salzburg, Austria.
• Georg (1964). Married Eilika Duchess von Oldenburg and has issue.

Otto and his wife reside at the "Villa Austria" in Pöcking, Bavaria, Germany. 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year—i. ... Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921-2002) Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon (April 2, 1921 - April 26, 2002), a noted art collector, was a Dutch-born Swiss citizen with a Hungarian title, a legal resident of Monaco for tax purposes, with a declared second residency in the United... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... This page is for the city of Salzburg. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ...

External links

• Erzherzog Dr. Otto von Habsburg (Autorisierte Ehrenseite) (http://otto.twschwarzer.de/)
• A Time Magazine essay by Otto Von Hapsburg, with his thoughts on democracy, the European Union, etc. (http://www.time.com/time/reports/visions/Habsburg.html)