Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

Who was Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor?

Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real powers of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. From 1728 until 1737 he was Duke of Lorraine. In 1737, Francis became managed by France under terms resulting from the War of the Polish Succession. Francis and House of Lorraine received the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the peace treaty that ended that war. After taking the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, the return of the ancestral duchy of Lorraine went nominally to his brother Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, until succession under derivate house alliances resulted in Lorraine's annexation to France in 1766.