Lujo Tončić-Sorinj () (12 April 1915 – 20 May 2005) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and politician of the conservative

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is currentl ...

(ÖVP). He served as

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

from 1966 to 1968 and as

Secretary General of the Council of Europe The Secretary General of the Council of Europe (french: Secrétaire général du Conseil de l'Europe, links=no) is appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers for a period of five years. The secreta ...

from 1969 to 1974.

Life

Born in the

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 ...

capital

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

, he was a member of a Croatian family ennobled in 1911. His paternal grandfather Josip Tončić-Sorinj (1847–1931) had been governor in the

Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entir ...

, his father served as consul in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

. Tončić-Sorinj attended the Gymnasium in Salzburg and, having obtained his

Matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

degree, went on to study law, philosophy and Slavistics at the

Vienna University The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public university, public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the Geogra ...

and the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

. During World War II, he taught languages in a signal corps of the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

''. In 1945, Tončić-Sorinj became chairman of the political department of the Austrian Institute for the Economy and Politics in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, and he joined the newly created ÖVP. Later he was member of the Austrian

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

commission and of the Austrian delegation to the advisory convention of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

. From 1949 to 1966, he was member of the Austrian National Council parliament for the ÖVP, from 1966 to 1968 he was foreign minister in the cabinet of Chancellor

Josef Klaus Josef Klaus (15 August 1910 – 25 July 2001) was an Austrian politician of the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). He served as State Governor (''Landeshauptmann'') of Salzburg from 1949 to 1961, as Minister of Finance from 1961 to 1963 and as ...

. Relying on the 1946

Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement The Gruber–De Gasperi Agreement was a bilateral treaty that was signed by the foreign minister of Austria, Karl Gruber, and the prime minister of Italy, Alcide De Gasperi, on 5 September 1946. Recognized by international law, it granted the Germ ...

, Minister Tončić-Sorinj played a vital role in the negotiations with Italy over the autonomy of

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

. A new Austro-Italian agreement was finally achieved under his successor

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for th ...

. Also, Tončić-Sorinj initiated the implementation of the

United Nations Office at Vienna The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the ...

(UNOV), with the

Vienna International Centre The Vienna International Centre (VIC) is the campus and building complex hosting the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV; in de-AT, Büro der Vereinten Nationen in Wien). It is colloquially also known as UNO City. Overview The VIC, designed ...

built from 1973 onwards as one of four major UN office sites. From 1969 to 1974, he was Secretary General of the

. After the

Revolutions of 1989 The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

and the

Breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

, Tončić-Sorinj strongly supported the independence of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. In 1992 he decided to take the Croatian citizenship because of his family connections to Dalmatia, but as a result he lost Austrian citizenship. With help from his political party, he became an Austrian citizen again. , - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by:

Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest Ch ...

, width="40%" align="center" ,

Foreign Minister of Austria This article lists the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Austria, from 30 October 1918 up to today. During the time of the ''Anschluss'' to Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945, Austria had no government in its own right. The current Austrian Foreign Mini ...

1966–1968 , width="30%" align="center" , Succeeded by:

, - , width="30%" align="center" , Preceded by:

Peter Smithers Sir Peter Henry Berry Otway Smithers (9 December 1913 in Yorkshire, England – 8 June 2006 in Vico Morcote, Switzerland) was a United Kingdom Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament for Winchester for 14 years, and a junio ...

, width="40%" align="center" ,

1969–1974 , width="30%" align="center" , Succeeded by:
Georg Kahn-Ackermann , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Toncic-Sorinj, Lujo 1915 births 2005 deaths Austrian diplomats Austrian untitled nobility Council of Europe Secretaries-General Croatian nobility Foreign ministers of Austria Politicians from Vienna Austrian people of Croatian descent People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia