Joseph II (Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was
Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the
Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress
Maria Theresa and her husband,
Francis I, and was the brother of
Marie Antoinette. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the
House of Lorraine, styled
Habsburg-Lorraine (von Habsburg-Lothringen in German). Joseph was a proponent of
enlightened absolutism; however, his commitment to modernizing reforms subsequently engendered significant opposition, which eventually culminated in an ultimate failure to fully implement his programmes. He has been ranked, with
Catherine the Great of
Russia and
Frederick the Great of
Prussia, as one of the three great Enlightenment monarchs. His policies are now known as
Josephinism. He died with no sons and was succeeded by his younger brother,
Leopold.