This paper examines the personal interventions of the empress in the reform process. Maria Theresa intervened in this process in various ways. First of all, she was able to supervise it directly through her signing of official documents, to which she would add instructions for their enactment to the court authorities or to particular countries of her realm. She also tried to make sure that competent individuals were appointed to the administrative apparatus responsible for implementing and supervising the reforms, irrespective of their social estate - though in this she was only partly successful. In addition, she kept her civil servants in check by requiring them to file regular reports. Finally, by calling for fiscal economies she had a hand in controlling public expenditure., Zbyněk Sviták., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy