Reichsverweser#
Reichsverweser (temporary regent), position conferred upon Archduke Johann by the Frankfurt National Assembly 1848/49 on June 29, 1848; constituted the provisional central authority in the German Federation. Archduke Johann accepted his election on July 5 in the presence of a deputation, was invested in Frankfurt on July 11, 1848 and formed a temporary government under Fuerst K. zu Leiningen. However, due to the dispute between the Grossdeutsche and Kleindeutsche he was not given any competences. Archduke Johann returned to Austria in December 1849 after the office of Reichsverweser had been replaced with a "Bundeskommission" (Federal Commission) following an agreement between Austria and Prussia.
Literature#
E. Hoor, Erzherzog Johann von Oesterreich als Reichsverweser. Der unveroeffentlichte Briefwechsel mit F. Fuerst Schwarzenberg aus den Jahren 1848 und 1849, 1981; A. Ableitinger, Erzherzog Johann und die Revolutionen von 1848/49, in: G. Klingenstein and P. Cordes (eds.), Erzherzog Johann von Oesterreich, Beitraege zur Geschichte seiner Zeit, 1982.