Carl Josef Anton von In der Maur auf Strelburg und zu Freifeld was an Austrian aristocrat and statesman who twice served in the court of Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein as the Governor of Liechtenstein from 1884 until 1892 and 1897 until 1913. In der Maur was born into the Tyrolese noble family of In der Maur in Austria. After completing his education he joined the Lower Austrian State Service. He was appointed Governor of Liechtenstein in 1884. He reformed the administration, expanding regulations and government responsibilities. In der Maur had a domineering style of governance, and often acted contrary to the wishes of the Landtag. He left office in 1892 when he was appointed Fürstlicher Kabinettsrat to Vienna, but maintained connections with the rest of the Liechtenstein government through his membership of its Political Recruitment Office. In der Maur returned to the office of Governor in 1897 to serve in a "provisional fashion". He held the post until his death in 1913 following a stroke during an impassioned debate in the Landtag.
Early life
Carl Josef Anton von In der Maur auf Strelburg und zu Freifeld was born on 16 October 1852 in Wiener Neustadt, Austrian Empire. He belonged to the Tyrolese noble family In der Maur, whom were members of the Austrian Landadel in South Tyrol. His father was Karl Johann Josef Romed von In der Maur auf Strelburg und zu Freifeld, who served in the Austrian government as the Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Education, and his mother was Barbara Kahl. His father had previously been married to Baroness Maria Ludovika Benz de Albkron. He was the elder brother of Ernst Alexander, Marianne Barbara, Friedrich, and Klara Barbara. In der Maur attended secondary school in Vienna before studying law and political science at the Theresian Military Academy, where he graduated with honors in 1875.
Career
After finishing school, In der Maur entered the Lower Austrian State Service. In Vaduz he served as Presidential Secretary. On 23 September 1884, In der Maur was appointed Fürstlicher Landesverweser of the Principality of Liechtenstein in Vaduz by Prince Johann II. During this time the Landtag passed an unusually limited amount of legislation. In lieu of such lawmaking activity, In der Maur's administration was reorganised and assumed more bureaucratic functions and responsibilities. Between autumn 1884 and December 1890 it promulgated 119 new regulations concerning matters such as education, religion, communal governance, prisons, midwifery, chimney sweeping, livestock, and forest management. He took a particular interest in the school system and endeavored to standardise primary education. He approached governance with an authoritarian style and often contradicted the wishes of the Landtag; his government employed "preventive censorship" and suppressed attempts to introduce bills that would ensure freedom of the press. In der Maur left office on 5 September 1892, when he was appointed Fürstlicher Kabinettsrat to Vienna and was replaced by Friedrich Stellwag von Carion. He maintained his ties with the rest of the Liechtenstein government through his membership of its Political Recruitment Office. In October 1896, Stellwag died and In der Maur returned to Vaduz to assume his old position in a "provisional" fashion. He regained office on 4 January 1897. He officially retained his post in the Political Recruitment Office, though another appointee took charge of his responsibilities. In der Maur continued to serve as provisional Governor of Liechtenstein until his death. In 1901, In der Maur co-founded and became a board member of the Historical Association for the Principality of Liechtenstein, a post he retained until his death. He received the Jubilee Medal for imperial and royal civil state servants in Austria and was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Order of Franz Joseph in 1909. That year, on the 25th anniversary of his service to Johann II, he was conferred with honorary citizenship of the Principality of Liechtenstein by the Landtag.
Personal life and family
In der Maur enjoyed learning foreign languages and read Latin classics in his leisure. He was also fond of his work as a bureaucrat and head of government. In a report compiled for top government officials in 1890, he expressed disdain for low-level civil servants and private Liechtensteiner practitioners, reserving positive judgments for foreign noble officials, and asserted that peasants frequently had to be forced to accept "progress". He married Auguste von Kogerer, daughter of Heinrich Ritter von Kogerer, on 11 September 1883 in Vienna. Auguste gave birth on 15 August 1887 in Vaduz to their only son, Gilbert Heinrich Carl August von In der Maur auf Strelberg und zu Freifeld.
Death
In der Maur's health steadily declined as he aged. During a heated debate in the Landtag he suffered from a stroke, eventually dying on 11 December 1913 in Vaduz. A requiem mass was held on 15 December and he was interred in the crypt of St. Martin's Church in Innsbruck.
