Klemens von Metternich

Klemens von Metternich was an Austrian foreign minister and chancellor. After the Napoleonic Wars, Metternich oversaw the Congress of Vienna. and created the Concert of Europe. The Concert of Vienna intended to preserve peace in Europe through a stable balance of power and restoring monarchies. The latter was intended to increase the legitimacy states granted each other. Thereby, greater legitimacy was meant to decrease the scale of conflicts. By restoring monarchies, a key tenant of Metternich's ideology emerges: order is a prerequisite to freedom and must take precedence.