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- BIOGRAPHY
Karl Johannes, 12.Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, was born 10 December 1937 in Prague, Bohemia, the son of Karl, 6.Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, and Antonie, Prinzessin von Fürstenberg. The von Schwarzenberg family was one of the richest families of Austria-Hungary and one of the largest land owners of Bohemia.
Born in Bohemia, the family spoke both German and Czech, but after the Communist Coup d'état in 1948 the family fled to Austria where he grew up. Karl studied law and forestry at the universities of Vienna, Münich and Graz.
From 1948 to 1990, he lived in Austria, where he was involved in politics for the Austrian People's Party and became a noted critic of human-rights violations in the eastern bloc, chairing the International Helsink Federation for Human Rights.
On 22 April 1967 in Seefeld, Karl Johannes married Theresia, Gräfin zu Harrach auf Glatz und in Machlande, daughter of Dr. Johannes, Graf zu Harrach auf Glatz und im Machlande, and Johanna, Gräfin und Herrin von und zu Firmian.
From 1984 to 1991 he was chairman of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, and in 1986 he founded the _Dokumentationszentrum zur Fördering der unabhängigen tschechoslowakischen Literatur_ in Scheinfeld, Germany. In 1989, he accepted the European Human Rights Prize on behalf of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.
After the fall of the communist regime, Schwarzenberg returned to Prague in 1990 and for two years was chancellor during Václav Havel's tenure as president. Although he still occasionally visits Austria, where part of his family lives. He holds both Swiss and Czech citizenship. Schwarzenberg served as Senator for one of Prague's districts from 2004 to 2010.
Having divorced his wife in 1988, they remarried on 24 July 2008 in Murau, Austria. His wife spends most of her time in Vienna and doesn't speak Czech.
In May 2010, Schwarzenberg was elected Member of the Chamber of Deputies, gaining the largest number of preference votes. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from July 2010 to 10 July 2013. He was a candidate for President of the Czech Republic in the 2013 presidential election, and qualified for the second round. He ultimately finished second.
Since 1991, Karl Johannes, 12.Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, is the 1,322nd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece of Austria.
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