The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Service () was the diplomatic service carrying out the foreign policy of the Emperor of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

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

Diplomatic missions

It should first be noted that diplomatic relations overall were more limited at this time as there were much fewer sovereign states. In 1914, only 57 states could be considered as sovereign (compared to some 190 today). When the centrally organised

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

of the Habsburg Empire was created in 1720, there were 19 diplomatic missions, of which the oldest one was in Constantinople established in 1547. Over time, new diplomatic missions were established and some were closed down, mostly due to the end of the receiving state. The last diplomatic mission was established in 1917 in Christiania (now

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

). Furthermore, it needs to be highlighted that before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

there was a division between

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes a ...

and

legations A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...

based on the system of diplomatic ranks established by the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

of 1815. Until the mid-20th century, most diplomatic representations were still legations as embassies were reserved for a few of the major world powers or close allies. The division between legations and embassies changed after World War II when it was no longer considered appropriate to treat states differently in line with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

principle of equality of sovereign states, enshrined in the UN Charter. In 1914, Austria-Hungary had thirty-four diplomatic missions of which ten were embassies, twenty-two were legations and two were diplomatic agencies. Of the ten embassies, only two, the ones in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

were outside Europe and these had also been the last missions that had been raised to an embassy. For a list of diplomatic missions, see

List of diplomatic missions of Austria-Hungary This is a list of diplomatic missions of Austria-Hungary from the formation of the Austria-Hungary, Dual Monarchy in 1867 until it was dissolved in 1918. For a background to the diplomatic service of Austria-Hungary, including the types of diplom ...

Heads of mission

The ranks and titles of the heads of mission were subject to constant changes over time until the Congress of Vienna for the first time established a general system. With the Congress of Vienna, the diplomatic representative in charge of an embassy was styled

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

(), usually referred to as an Ambassador, while the one in charge of a legation was styled

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

(), normally referred to as a Minister. As the name indicates a Minister also had plenipotentiary powers (i.e. full authority to represent the head of state), but was ranking below an Ambassador. While the rank of Minister now is effectively obsolete, it was the most common title at the time of the Dual Monarchy. The title of ambassador had been used before the Congress of Vienna by the Habsburg Empire, but all relations at ambassadorial level, whether permanent or temporary, were downgraded in 1849 following the revolution. In 1856, the diplomatic mission at the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

were again raised to embassies, followed by

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1860 and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

in 1874. Between 1867 and 1909, six legations were raised from legations to embassies:

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(1867),

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(1871),

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

(1877),

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(1903) and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

(1908). It can also be noted that in 1914, there were twenty-two ministers who were accredited to thirty-nine countries, most of them side accreditations to various German principalities.

Diplomatic corps

The staff of the foreign service belonged to a different branch than both the staff at the central office at the

Ballhausplatz Ballhausplatz is a town square, 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 ...

in Vienna and the consular service. In 1914, the diplomatic corps numbered approximately 123 members, of which the absolute majority manned the diplomatic missions.Godsey, ''op. cit.'', p. 13.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* 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, ''Der Auswärtige Dienst von Österreich-Ungarn 1720-1920'', Vienna, Böhlau, 1986. * Erwin Matsch, ''Geschichte des Auswärtigen Dienstes von Österreich-Ungarn 1720-1920'', Vienna, Böhlau, 1980. Diplomats from Austria-Hungary Foreign relations of Austria-Hungary Diplomatic services 1867 establishments in Austria-Hungary 1918 disestablishments in Austria-Hungary

Diplomatic missions

Heads of mission

Diplomatic corps

See also

References

Bibliography