Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich (German: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein) (May 15, 1773 – June 11, 1859) was an Austrian politician. He is thought of as one of the most important diplomats of all time. Metternich was Foreign Minister for Austria from 1809 until 1848. In this time, he got Austria out of a bad treaty with Napoleon that forced Austria to fight on the French side. Then he helped build a system in Europe that kept the peace for most of the next hundred years.