Adam Graf Tarnowski von Tarnów (4 March 1866 – 10 October 1946), was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat of Polish origin during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Life

Born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

on 4 March 1866 into an old family of the Polish aristocracy. On 10 September 1901, he married Princess Marie Światopełk-Czetwertyńska (1880–1965) in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. Count Tarnowski entered the

Austro-Hungarian foreign service The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Service (german: k. u. k. Auswärtige Dienst) was the diplomatic service carrying out the foreign policy of the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the formation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 until it was dissol ...

in 1897. He was appointed to the Austro-Hungarian Embassy in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

in 1899 and remained there until 1901, when he was transferred to

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. In 1907, he was promoted to Counselor and dispatched to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. In 1909, he was transferred to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. On 30 April 1911, he was appointed Minister of the Dual Monarchy at

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. During the war, he was said to have exerted a major influence on King Ferdinand I and to have played a prominent role in securing Bulgaria's entry into the war on the side of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

in October 1915. In late 1915, Dr. Dumba who served as the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador at Washington D.C. was declared persona non grata and expelled from the country. On 9 November 1916, the Austro-Hungarian government decided to appoint Count Tarnowski as his replacement. This was considered a well-suited appointment as he had a reputation of being one of the most accomplished and talented diplomats in the Dual Monarchy's service. Count Tarnowski only arrived to the United States on 31 January 1917 as Britain first refused to grant him safe conduct to travel through the Entente naval blockade. Furthermore, he arrived on the same day as the German note on the resumption of

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was delivered and President Wilson therefore refused to receive him. Following the U.S. declaration of war with Germany on 8 April, Austria-Hungary decided to break off diplomatic relations which meant that he was never allowed to present his credentials. He sailed from the United States on 4 May together with other diplomatic staff. War was formally declared between the United States and Austria-Hungary in December 1917. In 1917, Count Tarnowski was considered for nomination as Minister at Stockholm, but as events in his native Poland unfolded he never took up the position. In September 1917, he declined to be a member of the

Regency Council A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

of the newly founded

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

, but was later proposed to become the first Prime Minister. However, his nomination was vetoed by Germany due to his alleged pro-Austrian sympathies.'Polish constitution to bar absentee king', ''op. cit.'', 5 November 1917. After the war, he retired from public service. His son Adam (1892–1956) was also a diplomat and served briefly as Foreign Minister in the Polish exile government in London after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Count Tarnowski died in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

on 10 October 1946.

Notes

References

External links

'Adam Tarnowski von Tarnów', Solving Problems Through ForceThe Tarnowski Family Association
*

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

has a series of photographs of Adam Tarnowski made on board, presumably in sea voyage to America or from America
photo of Adam Tarnowski
and photos of Adam Tarnowski and Mr. von Summaruga

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarnowski von Tarnow, Adam 1866 births 1946 deaths Austro-Hungarian diplomats of World War I Austro-Hungarian diplomats Austrian diplomats Polish diplomats Counts of Poland Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to the United States Adam