1790 Holy Roman Empire imperial election

Election of Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor in 1790 June 2025 1790 Imperial election Holy Roman Empire presidential no 1764 Imperial election 1764 1792 Imperial election 1792 1790 09 30 175px House Leopold II Habsburg 6 100% Emperor Joseph II House of Habsburg Leopold II House of Habsburg The 1790 Holy Roman Empire imperial election was held on 30 September in Frankfurt. The winner was Grand Duke Leopold of the House of Habsburg, who assumed the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Leopold succeeded his brother Joseph II, who died 20 February 1790. The election was uncontested, with Leopold securing unanimous support from the six voting prince-electors. The election occurred during the Great Turkish War and the early French Revolution. Background The Holy Roman Empire’s elective monarchy, codified by the Golden Bull of 1356, entrusted seven prince-electors to select the King of the Romans, typically crowned Holy Roman Emperor.Whaley Joachim Germany and the Holy Roman Empire: Volume II Oxford University Press 2012 978-0199693078 An Emperor with an adult son could summon the electors to formally elect his heir presumptive as King of the Romans, allowing the son to succeed the father as Emperor without further elections upon the father's death; Emperor Francis I had done this for his son Joseph in 1764, and Joseph became Emperor upon Francis's death the next year. However, when Joseph died in 1790, he had only daughters, and the throne became vacant, prompting a new election. Joseph’s reign had involved controversial reforms and the Great Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire, alongside tensions with revolutionary France.Blanning T.C.W. The French Revolution in Germany Oxford University Press 1983 978-0198225645 Joseph's brother Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was the sole candidate.Okey Robin The Habsburg Monarchy, c.1765–1918 Macmillan 2001 978-0333396544 Election results The election occurred in Frankfurt on 30 September 1790. Leopold, as King of Bohemia, abstained from voting to avoid a tie, per custom.Heer Friedrich The Holy Roman Empire Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1968 978-0297176725 The six voting electors unanimously chose Leopold, with no other candidates recorded.Wilson Peter H. The Holy Roman Empire: A Thousand Years of Europe's History Penguin 2016 978-1846143182 He was crowned King of the Romans in Frankfurt on 9 October 1790. Elector Title Vote Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal Archbishop of Mainz Leopold II Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony Archbishop of Trier Leopold II Maximilian Francis of Austria Archbishop of Cologne Leopold II Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria Elector of Bavaria Leopold II Frederick Augustus III of Saxony Elector of Saxony Leopold II Frederick William II of Prussia Elector of Brandenburg Leopold II Total 6 votes, 100% (unanimous) See also List of imperial elections in the Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Emperor Prince-elector Golden Bull of 1356 House of Habsburg References External links https://www.britannica.com/topic/Holy-Roman-Empire Holy Roman Empire Encyclopædia Britannica June 28, 2025 https://www.habsburger.net/en/history The Habsburg Monarchy habsburger.net June 28, 2025 Category:Holy Roman Empire Category:House of Habsburg