Paul Alfons Maria Clemens Lothar Philippus Neri Felix Nicomedes Prinz von Metternich-Winneburg (26 May 1917 – 21 September 1992) was a German-Austrian racing driver and President of the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI), before becoming President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1975.
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Biography
Prince Paul Alfons von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein, known informally as Paul Metternich, was born in Vienna in the House of Metternich, as the only son of Klemens Wenzel Lothar Michal Felix von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (1869-1930) and his Spanish wife, Dona Isabel de Silva y Carvajal (1880-1980). He was a great-grandson of the Austrian statesman Klemens von Metternich. He attended the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.
He fought on the Nationalist side during the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, he served as a liaison officer in the Spanish Blue Division.
In 1940 in Berlin, where he belonged to a circle of opponents of the Nazi regime, he met his future wife Tatiana Vassiltschikov, who had a position in the foreign office. They were married in Berlin-Grunewald on 6 September 1941 and lived initially at Kynžvart Castle (Schloss Königswart) in Egerland (now in the Czech Republic).
In 1945 he was expelled from Czechoslovakia and lost his property there. He moved to another family estate (from 1816), the winery Schloss Johannisberg in the Rheingau, which had been destroyed in the war. He later rebuilt it and ran the winery with his wife.
He also became a racing car driver. Among other contests, he participated in the Monte Carlo Rally and the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans. From 1960 he was President of the Automobilclub von Deutschland. From 1975 until 1985 he was President of the worldwide automobile club FIA.
He was further engaged in the Order of Saint Lazarus charity organisation and was Grand bailiff for the German Balliwick.
In 1979 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
His wife Tatiana was a well known art patron. With his death in Geneva, the main line of the Metternich family became extinct. His widow was the last representative of the House of Metternich-Winneburg.
Honors
Monaco: Commander of the Order of Grimaldi (29 January 1972)
Literature
"Paul Alfons Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg", Der Spiegel, 13 September, no. 40, 1992