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Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (July 9, 1578 - February 15, 1637), from the house of Habsburg, ruled 1620-1637. Originally Archduke of Styria, his appointment as King of Bohemia was one of the causes of the Thirty Years' War. He was also the king of the Holy Roman Empire during most of the Thirty Years' War.
He was the son of Charles II of Austria (1540-1590) and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria (1551-1608) . His first wife was Maria Anna of Bavaria (1574-1616), daughter of William V, Duke of Bavaria, by whom he was father of four children (including Maria Anna of Austria (1610-1665), Cecylia Renata (1611-1644), Ferdinand III (1608-1657), Leopold Wilhelm). His second wife was Eleonore Gonzaga (1598-1655), whom he married in Innsbruck, 1622.
He was the leading champion of the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation and of absolutist rule during the Thirty Years' War.
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