Nikolaus (Anton) Graf Szécsen von Temerin ( hu, gróf temerini Szécsen Miklós ) (26 November 1857 – 18 May 1926), was an

Austro-Hungarian 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 ...

diplomat of Hungarian origin serving as ambassador at

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. ...

at the outbreak of

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, ...

Life

Born in

Temerin Temerin ( sr-Cyrl, Темерин; hu, Temerin, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia. The town has a population of 19,613, while the municipality has a population of ...

on 26 November 1857 into the Hungarian nobility as son of Anton Graf Szécsen von Temerin (1819–1896), an Austro-Hungarian government minister. In 1896, he married Johanna Gräfin Mikes von Zabola (1866–1930) in Vienna. Count Szécsen joined 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 dissolv ...

and served inter alia in Rome. In November 1895, he was appointed Second Section Chief at the

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 enti ...

in Vienna and was promoted to First Section Chief in January 1900. At the insistence of Count Tisza, he was appointed despite his relatively limited experience to serve as the Dual Monarchy's ambassador to 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 R ...

in November 1901, a prominent posting given the close connections between the House of Habsburg and the papacy. Count Szécsen, considered an able diplomat with a "solid, practical mind and a masterful grasp of the workings of diplomacy", apparently turned down an offer to succeed Count von Aehrenthal as ambassador to St. Petersburg upon the latter's appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1906. In early January 1911, Count Szécsen was appointed as ambassador to France, considered one of the most prestigious ambassadorships at the time, and presented his credentials on 21 March. In that capacity, he played a key role during the

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 Pr ...

in 1914. After returning to Vienna, he became a member of the Upper House (''Herrenhaus'') in 1916 and served as a

Hofmarschall The ''Hofmarschall'' (plural: Hofmarschälle) was the administrative official in charge of a princely German court, supervising all its economic affairs. Historically, every civil service was regarded as court service (e.g. the Russian nobility is ...

in Hungary from 1916 to 1918. Count Szécsen had been invested as a

Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

in 1908. His son Nikolaus was executed by Russian soldiers at Mór, Hungary, on 28 March 1945.'Nikolaus Graf Szécsen von Temerin', Solving Problems Through Force
/ref> Count Szécsen died in Gyöngyösszentkereszt on 18 May 1926.

Notes

References

External links

'Nikolaus Graf Szécsen von Temerin', Solving Problems Through Force

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szecsen Von Temerin, Nikolaus 1857 births 1926 deaths Austro-Hungarian diplomats of World War I Austro-Hungarian diplomats Austrian diplomats Hungarian diplomats Hungarian nobility Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to the Holy See Ambassadors of Austria-Hungary to France