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Matthias 1557-1619
King of Bohemia and of Hungary, and Holy Roman Emperor

Born in Vienna, the third son of Emperor Maximilian II, he was tolerant in religious matters, favouring a policy of moderation towards German Protestants, although, as Governor of Austria, he suppressed risings of Protestant peasants (1595-97). He ruled Bohemia (1611-17) and Hungary (1608-18), and after being elected emperor on the death of his brother Rudolf II (1612), he continued to pursue a conciliatory policy which aroused the antagonism of other Catholic princes, including his nephew and heir, Ferdinand (later Ferdinand II). An asthmatic, he increasingly withdrew from public life, leaving government to his minister Khlesh.