1718 - 1721

Anton Florian (born 1656, died 1721), who had been prepared since childhood to assume a political function, entered the Imperial service in 1676 as a treasurer. In 1687, he received the Hungarian right of abode. Two years later, the Emperor appointed him to the Privy Council and sent him, as the first layperson, to the Papal Court in Rome, first in the function of an extraordinary emissary, then beginning in 1691 as ambassador.

From 1683 to 1695 he was entrusted with supervising the education of Archduke Karl (VI.) and was appointed as his Chief Chamberlain. In 1697, he received the Order of the Golden Fleece. He accompanied Karl, who was now King Karl III, as Chief Treasurer and First Minister from 1703 to 1711 in the Spanish war of succession. Here, he was conferred the title of a Spanish grandee.

After his return, Anton Florian assumed leadership of the government as Chairman of the Council of State. He retained his position as Chief Treasurer. Thanks to his influence at court, he achieved admission to the Imperial Council of Princes for himself and his heirs, on the condition of purchasing Princely immediate properties. He therefore acquired, through a trade, the Imperial immediate domains of Vaduz and Schellenberg from the possession of his nephew Josef Wenzel and, in 1719, successfully requested the Emperor to elevate them to the Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein.

Prince Anton Florian