Ferdinand Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein (25 July 1628 – 1 December 1698), was a German prince member of the House of Dietrichstein, 3rd Prince (Fürst) of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, Princely Count (gefürsteter Graf) of Tarasp, Baron (Freiherr) of Hollenburg, Finkenstein and Thalberg; in addition, he served as Lord Chamberlain (Obersthofmeister), Conference Minister (Konferenzminister) and Privy Councillor (Geheimrat) of Emperor Leopold I, and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1668.
He belonged to the Austrian noble family of Dietrichstein, whose members thanks to many years of service to the House of Habsburg where raised to the rank of imperial barons (Reichfreiherr; in 1514), imperial counts (Reichsgraf; in 1600 and 1612) and finally in 1624 under the laws of primogeniture where raised to the rank of imperial princes (Reichsfürst).
Born in Vienna, he was the seventh child but eldest surviving son of Maximilian, 2nd Prince of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, and his first wife, Princess Anna Maria Franziska, a daughter of Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf and Anna Maria Šemberová of Boskovice and Černá Hora.
After the death of his father in 1655, Ferdinand Joseph succeeded him as 3rd Prince of Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg, Lord of Nikolsburg (now Mikulov), Polná, Kanitz (now Dolní Kounice), Leipnik (now Lipník nad Bečvou), Weisskirch, Lord of Nußdorf ob der Traisen (with the including districts of Reichersdorf and Franzhausen). He later inherited the Bohemian Lordships of Libochovice, Budyně nad Ohří, Pátek, Nepomyšl and Vlachovo Březí.
Life
Offices
Like all his ancestors, Ferdinand Joseph was in the service of the House of Habsburg. He received the court offices (Hofamt) of Oberst-Erblandmundschenk in the Duchy of Carinthia and hereditary land-Jägermeister in the Duchy of Styria and later was appointed Kämmerer of Emperor Leopold I and member of the Privy Council.
An important task of Ferdinand Joseph took place in December 1666 on occasion of the marriage of the Emperor with his niece Margaret Theresa, Infanta of Spain and sister of the last King of the Habsburg branch, Charles II. Leopold I appointed him in 1667 Obersthofmeister of the then 15-year-old Empress; this was a great honor, but at the same time was not an easy task: the increasingly anti-Spanish sentiment in the Viennese court because of the inaccessibility of Margaret's entourage, and the pressure under which the Empress was after 6 years of marriage in which she gave birth to 4 children (of which only one daughter survived) and had several miscarriages, damaging her health. Ferdinand Joseph became the Empress' confidant and comforted her, and had to defend her against opposing courtiers who expressed their hope that the ailing Margaret soon die in order that the Emperor could contract a new marriage which could provided him with the long-awaited heir. Finally, the Empress died on 12 March 1673, aged 21. A few months later (15 October), Leopold I married again with his cousin Archduchess Claudia Felicitas of Austria, but Ferdinand Joseph remained in his post of Obersthofmeister for the new Empress.
Since 1668, Ferdinand Joseph was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece as the Knight 466 since his foundation. In 1682 Emperor Leopold I appointed him his personal Obersthofmeister and became part of the secret Konferenzminister, thus was included in the selected group of not more than 2,000 persons who effectively ruled the Holy Roman Empire. He was able to exert a not inconsiderable influence on government policy; this was because as the Imperial Obersthofmeister he usually had a chair in both the Privy Council and with the Konferenzminister. While many member of the Privy Council are primarily concerned with questions of administration, taxation, privileges, etc., the Konferenzminister are a secret committee created by Leopold I, which consisted of a few (between 4 and 12) members. They are the most important foreign policy advisory body, as they addressed issued for the Imperial House and are responsible for the policy in both the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg hereditary lands. At the same time, Ferdinand Joseph as a member of this selected group, reported the outcomes and decisions directly to the Emperor.