The Imperial and Royal Foreign Ministry (german: k. u. k. Ministerium des Äußern) was the ministry responsible for the foreign relations of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

from the formation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 until it was dissolved in 1918.

History

The history of Austrian diplomatic service began in 1720 when Emperor Charles VI appointed his court chancellor, Count Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf, Minister of the Privy Conference, responsible for the foreign affairs of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. From 1753 to 1792 Austrian foreign policy was headed by State Chancellor Prince Wenzel Anton of Kaunitz-Rietberg. After the proclamation of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

in 1804, foreign affairs remained a prerogative of the Emperor and his appointed minister; epitomized by Prince

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

who held the office (1809-1848) throughout the

Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...

period and made his ''Geheime Hofkanzlei'' on

Ballhausplatz Ballhausplatz is a square in central Vienna containing the building (with the address Ballhausplatz 2) that for over two hundred years has been the official residence of the most senior Austrian Cabinet Minister, the State Chancellor, today the ...

next to Hofburg Palace in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

a European centre of power. The

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

building, venue of the 1814-1815 Vienna Congress, had been erected in 1719 according to plans designed by

Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (14 November 1668 – 16 November 1745) was an Austrian baroque architect and military engineer who designed stately buildings and churches and whose work had a profound influence on the architecture of the Habsburg E ...

. The word ''Ballhausplatz'' was often used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for the ministry, similar to

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk f ...

or Quai d'Orsay. From 1867, the Foreign Ministry was one of the three common ministries (''

kaiserlich und königlich The phrase Imperial and Royal (German: ''kaiserlich und königlich'', ), typically abbreviated as ''k. u. k.'', ''k. und k.'', ''k. & k.'' in German (the "und" is always spoken unabbreviated), ''cs. és k. (császári és királyi)'' in Hungari ...

'', often abbreviated ''k.u.k.'') established in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, together with the Ministry of War and Joint Ministry of Finance concerned for the common aspects of the

dual monarchy Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically use ...

, i.e. the foreign policy, the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

and the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. The Minister of the Imperial and Royal House and of Foreign Affairs was nominated by the Emperor; he was also chairman of the Ministers' Council for Common Affairs as governing body of the Austro-Hungarian

real union Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions in contrast to personal unions; however, they are not as unified as states in a political union. It is a development from personal union and has historically be ...

. The headquarters of the ministry remained at No. 2 Ballhausplatz. Directly beneath the minister in the ministry hierarchy stood the ''First Section Chief'' (equivalent to an Undersecretary) who deputised for the minister and was in charge of administrative affairs. The ''Second Section Chief'' (equivalent to a Head of Political Section) was lower in the hierarchy, but was in charge of the political departments of the ministry.William D. Godsey, ''Aristocratic Redoubt: The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office on the Eve of the First World War'', West Lafayette, Purdue University Press, 1999, p. 11ff. The Evidenzbureau, the intelligence agency of Austro-Hungary, reported to the Foreign Ministry from its inception in 1850 until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in 1914, when it was made subordinate to the General Staff. Over the decades, the diplomatic service was not able to attenuate the impression of Austria-Hungary as a potential adversary of numerous European states. In 1882 Foreign Minister Count Gustav Kálnoky succeeded in extending the Dual Alliance with the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

into a Triple Alliance of collective defense with the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

, however, the coalition broke up in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, while the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian monarchy eventually succumbed to

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

aspirations in 1918. Foreign Minister Count Leopold Berchtold sparked the 1914

July Crisis The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914, which led to the outbreak of World War I (1914–1918). The crisis began on 28 June 1914, when Gavrilo Pri ...

by his ultimatum to Serbia; he and Chief of Staff Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf persuaded the aged Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

() to declare war. At the end of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy collapsed (October 1918) and the governmental powers in

German Austria The Republic of German-Austria (german: Republik Deutschösterreich or ) was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethnic German population ...

were taken over by the government of State Chancellor

Karl Renner Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republic" because he led the first government of German ...

by resolution of the Provisional Assembly on 12 November 1918. The last Austro-Hungarian foreign minister,

Ludwig von Flotow Ludwig von Flotow, after 1919 known simply as Ludwig Flotow (17 November 1867 in Vienna - 6 April 1948 in Gmunden) was an Austro-Hungarian statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political ca ...

, did not resign until 8 November 1920.

Foreign Ministers

For a list of Imperial Foreign Ministers, see List of foreign ministers of Austria-Hungary.

Ministers of the Imperial and Royal House and of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)

Bibliography

* F.R. Bridge, ''From Sadowa to Sarajevo: The Foreign Policy of Austria–Hungary 1866–1914'' (1972). * William D. Godsey, ''Aristocratic Redoubt: The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office on the Eve of the First World War'', West Lafayette, Purdue University Press, 1999. * ''Jahrbuch des k.u.k. Auswärtigen Dienstes'', 22 vols., Vienna, K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1897–1918. * Erwin Matsch, ''Geschichte des Auswärtigen Dienstes von Österreich-Ungarn 1720-1920'', Vienna, Böhlau, 1980. * —, ''Der Auswärtige Dienst von Österreich-Ungarn 1720-1920'', Vienna, Böhlau, 1986.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* D. Godsey, William
Ballhausplatz
in

Foreign relations of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...