Who was the last Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire?

Karl I was the last Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ruling from 1916 until the monarchy collapsed in 1918. In English, his name is often rendered as Charles I of Austria; he was also known as Karl IV, King of Hungary.

He inherited the throne after the death of his great-uncle, Emperor Franz Joseph I, who had ruled for nearly 68 years. Karl became emperor during World War I, when Austria-Hungary was suffering military defeats, food shortages, political unrest, and growing nationalist movements among its many ethnic groups.

Karl attempted to negotiate peace and preserve the empire, but the war’s outcome and the breakup of the Habsburg lands made that impossible. In November 1918, he renounced participation in state affairs, though he did not formally abdicate. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy was then dissolved and replaced by several independent or newly reorganized states.

A common mix-up is Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in 1914 helped trigger World War I. He was Karl’s predecessor in the line of succession, not the last emperor. Karl died in exile on Madeira in 1922.