To my peoples was made plural. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, diplomatic relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia became strained. After weeks of discussions, government and army leaders of the Empire decided to risk war with Serbia, hoping for a short and victorious campaign. Emperor Franz Joseph signed the declaration of war in his Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl on July 28. The document was distributed all over the empire and was widely published on the morning of the next day. At this time, several
Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria nominal Minister-President chairing the liberal cabinet of State Minister Anton von Schmerling. Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Rainer Ferdinand Maria Johann Evangelist Franz Ignaz of Austria (11 January 1827 – 27 January 1913), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and nephew of Emperor Francis II, was an Austrian politician who served as Minister-President of Austria from 1861 to 1865. Born in Milan, the capital of the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, he was a son of Viceroy Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria (1783–1853) and his consort Princess Elisabeth of Savoy (1800–1856). Rainer Ferdinand spent most of his youth at