| Gabriela von Habsburg | |
|---|---|
| Ambassador of Georgia to the Federal Republic of Germany | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 6, 2009 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 October 1955 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |
| Alma mater | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich |
| Archduchess Gabriela | |
|---|---|
| Austrian Imperial Family | |
| Spouse | Christian Meister (1978-1997) |
| Issue | |
| Severin Meister Lioba Meister Alena Meister |
|
| Full name | |
| Gabriela Maria Charlotte Felicitas Elisabeth Antonia | |
| House | House of Habsburg-Lorraine |
| Father | Otto von Habsburg |
| Mother | Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen |
Gabriela von Habsburg, (born 14 October 1956), also known as Archduchess Gabriela of Austria, is the Ambassador of Georgia to Germany since 2009.[1] She is best known as the granddaughter of Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria. Ambassador von Habsburg is also a prolific abstract sculptor, working mainly in stainless steel as well as stone-printed lithography.
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Gabriela von Habsburg was born in Luxembourg, the fourth child of Otto von Habsburg, the erstwhile crown prince of Austria, and his wife, Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen. She was baptised with the names Gabriela Maria Charlotte Felicitas Elisabeth Antonia. According to her birth certificate, her last name is "of Austria-Hungary" (von Österreich-Ungarn).[2]
She was raised at her parents' home in exile, Villa Austria, in Pöcking, Bavaria. As a result of the Habsburgs' banishment from Austria, she feels that she grew up deprived of any sense of pride of country, evolving instead a self-concept as a "European".[3] She believes that her dynasty's role in history shaped her upbringing, "I grew up in a family where we never spoke about anything at mealtimes except politics," she recalls.[3]
After graduating in 1976, Gabriela von Habsburg studied philosophy for two years at the University of Munich. From 1978 to 1982, she studied art at the Munich Academy of Arts with Robert Jacobsen and Eduardo Paolozzi.
She prefers to no longer use her ancestral titles as a member of the House of Habsburg: "Princess Imperial and Archduchess of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia", with the style of Imperial and Royal Highness."[3][4]
Since 2001, she has been an art professor at the Academy of Arts of Tbilisi, Georgia while also teaching at the Summer Academy of Arts in Neuburg an der Donau, Germany until 2005. She found the creativity and cheerfulness of her students in the face of the adversity then prevalent in Georgia inspiring.[3] During her tenure there she was granted Georgian citizenship.[3]. Her five hectare vineyard in Georgia produces wine.[3]
In November 2009, Georgia appointed Gabriela von Habsburg as its ambassador to Germany, and since March 2011 she has maintained a flat in Berlin.[5][3] Believing that Georgian history served as a crucible for European culture, she has maintained that the liberalizing reforms of President Mikheil Saakashvili have been welcome and invigorating for Georgia's people and economy, which has prompted her to work for Georgia's membership in the European Market.[3]
Since March 2010 Gabriela von Habsburg represents Georgia at the International Council of the Austrian Service Abroad.
On 30 August 1978, in Pöcking, Bavaria, Gabriela was married civilly and on 5 September 1978 religiously at St. Odile to Christian Meister, a German attorney. They divorced in 1997 and the marriage was annulled canonically.[4] Gabriela was the only one of her parents' seven children to marry a spouse who had neither a title nor an aristocratic name. They had three children.
Gabriela von Habsburg.Sculpture (English version) By Prof. Mathias Frehner and Prof. Carla Schulz-Hofmann Bucher GmbH & Co. Druck Verlag Netzwerk; (22. Oktober 2007) ISBN 978-3-902612-31-1
Gabriela von Habsburg.Skulpturen (German version) ISBN 978-3-902612-20-5
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