Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (German: Franz Joseph I., Hungarian: I. Ferenc József, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) is Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.

From 1 May 1850 until 24 August 1866 he is President of the German Confederation.

In December 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicates the throne as part of Ministerpräsident Felix zu Schwarzenberg's plan to end the Revolutions of 1848 in Austria, which allows Ferdinand's nephew Franz Joseph to ascend to the throne.

Largely considered to be a reactionary, Franz Joseph spends his early reign resisting constitutionalism in his domains.

The Austrian Empire is forced to cede most of its claim to Lombardy–Venetia to the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia following the conclusion of the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859, and the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866.

Although Franz Joseph cedes no territory to the Kingdom of Prussia after the Austrian defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, the Peace of Prague (23 August 1866) settles the German question in favor of Prussia, which prevents the unification of Germany under the House of Habsburg (Großdeutsche Lösung).

Franz Joseph is troubled by nationalism during his entire reign.

He concludes the Ausgleich of 1867, which grants greater autonomy to Hungary, hence transforming the Austrian Empire into the Austro-Hungarian Empire under his Dual Monarchy.

His domains are then ruled peacefully for the next 45 years, although Franz Joseph personally suffers the tragedies of the suicide of his son, the Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889, and the assassination of his wife, the Empress Elisabeth in 1898.

After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary turns its attention to the Balkans, which is a hotspot of international tension due to conflicting interests with the Russian Empire.

The Bosnian crisis is a result of Franz Joseph's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which had been occupied by his troops since the Congress of Berlin (1878).

On June 28, 1914, the assassination of the heir-presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, at the hands of Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, results in Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia, which is Russia's ally.

This activates a system of alliances which results in the First World War.

Franz Joseph dies on November 21, 1916, after ruling his domains for almost 68 years.

He is succeeded by his grandnephew Karl.