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 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.

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 is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

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 ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

). Furthermore, it needs to be highlighted that before

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 opposin ...

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 deno ...

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 B ...

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 an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

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 Dual Monarchy in 1867 until it was dissolved in 1918. For a background to the diplomatic service of Austria-Hungary, including the types of diplomatic representati ...

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 sov ...

(german: außerordentlicher und bevollmächtiger Botschafter), 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 ...

(german: außerordentlicher Gesandte und bevollmächtiger Minister), 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 ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

were again raised to embassies, followed by

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1860 and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

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

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(1867),

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

(1871),

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(1877),

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 ...

(1903) and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

(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 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 C ...

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. Austro-Hungarian diplomats 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