Kaunitz was born on February 2, 1711 in Vienna, Austria, one of 19 children of Maxmilian Ulrich, third Count of Kaunitz (1679-1746), and his consort Marie Ernestine, née Countess of East Frisia and Rietberg (1687-1758), an heiress of the Cirksena dynasty. Wenzel's father Count Maximilian Ulrich was appointed member of the Aulic Council (Reichshofrat) in 1706; he served as Imperial envoy and as governor (Landeshauptmann) of Moravia from 1720.
Kaunitz decided on a secular career, and studied law and diplomacy at the universities of Vienna, Leipzig and Leiden.
After completing his studies and traveling extensively, Kaunitz held a number of diplomatic and political posts, including those of minister to the House of Savoy at Turin (1742) and minister plenipotentiary in the Austrian Netherlands (1744-1746), the latter post being the de facto equivalent of governor. In January 1748 he was made a privy councilor. In March 1749 Maria Theresa, ruler of the Austrian realm, asked her privy councilors for their views on what should be Austria's foreign policy. Kaunitz argued, contrary to the majority view, that, since Prussia was Austria's "most dangerous and worst enemy, " and since the maritime powers (Great Britain and the Netherlands) would never support Austria against Prussia, Austria must reverse her traditional policy and gain the friendship of France. As ambassador to France (1750) and, after 1753, as chancellor of state, a post created for him, Kaunitz eventually succeeded in bringing about this alliance, which meant a reversal of the entire traditional European system. During the next period, and especially during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Kaunitz was almost omnipotent in Austria, not only directing its diplomacy, but even intervening in the conduct of military campaigns. He also had a voice in all important internal questions and was responsible for many innovations, including the renewed separation of finance from administration, and the institution of the Staatsrat (Council of State). As the influence of Maria Theresa's son Joseph II grew, that of Kaunitz declined, for although the two men thought much alike on many points, their temperaments clashed. Kaunitz, moreover, developed with old age traits that made him difficult to work with. He continued, however, to be nominally in charge of foreign affairs and to have a large say in them, until his resignation on August 19, 1792. He died in Vienna on June 27, 1794.
Kaunitz's most important and extremely influential office was that of State Chancellor and minister of foreign affairs, which he held 1753-1793 and where he had Empress Maria Theresa's full trust - against the opposition of her husband Francis Stephen. He had reluctantly accepted his appointment and demanded complete freedom to re-organise the foreign office on Ballhausplatz. Thanks in large part to him, Habsburg Austria established itself as a sovereign great power, entering the Treaty of Versailles (1756) with her old enemy, the French Ancien Régime, commonly known as Diplomatic Revolution (renversement des alliances). The new Franco-Austrian Alliance was considered a great feat of diplomacy, and established Kaunitz as the recognized master of the art.
Member of the Imperial Aulic Council (1735)
Wenzel Anton married Maria Ernestine von Starhemberg (1717-1749), a granddaughter of Imperial Chamber president Gundaker Thomas Starhemberg (1663-1745), on 6 May 1736. Four sons were born of the marriage, among them the Austrian general Count Franz Wenzel von Kaunitz-Rietberg (1742-1825). Wenzel Anton's granddaughter Eleonora (daughter of Kaunitz's eldest son Ernest) married his successor in the office of the State Chancellor, Prince Klemens von Metternich.
