Count János Forgách de Ghymes et Gács () (24 October 1870 – 25 September 1935), was an

Austro-Hungarian 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 ...

diplomat of Hungarian origin who played a prominent role during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in particular the

July Crisis The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the Great power, major powers of Europe in mid-1914, Causes of World War I, which led to the outbreak of World War I. It began on 28 June 1914 when the Serbs ...

Life

Born in Gács (now

Halič Halič (; ) is a village and municipality in the Lučenec District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia. History In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1299 (''Gach'') in the records of the Kingdom of Hungary as the loc ...

) on 24 October 1870 into a prominent Hungarian noble family as son of Count Antal Forgách de Ghymes et Gács (1819–1885), who had been of the few Hungarian magnates taking the side of Austria in 1848 and served as Section Chief in the Imperial Foreign Ministry in the 1850s. In 1908, he married Gabriella Lovassy de Szakál (1889–1972) in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and the couple had three children. In October 1905, Count Forgách received his first major posting as minister at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. In June 1907, he transferred to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

where he played a significant role during the

Bosnian crisis The Bosnian Crisis, also known as the Annexation Crisis (, ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Aneksiona kriza, Анексиона криза) or the First Balkan Crisis, erupted on 5 October 1908 when Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzeg ...

of 1908. However, he discredited himself the following year during the so-called Friedjung Process which involved forgery of documents a highly publicised treason trial in Agram (now

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

) and was sent into professional exile in 1911 as minister at

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. With the appointment of

Count Berchtold Leopold Anton Johann Sigismund Josef Korsinus Ferdinand Graf Berchtold von und zu Ungarschitz, Frättling und Püllütz (, ) (18 April 1863 – 21 November 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian politician, diplomat and statesman who served as Imperial ...

as Imperial Foreign Minister in 1912, Count Forgách made a comeback in the autumn of 1913 as Second Section Chief (equivalent to head of the Political Section) 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 ...

. A good friend of Count Berchtold from a young age, he became one of the Foreign Minister's closest advisors and confidants. Together with Count Hoyos, Berchtold's ''chef de cabinet'', he was one of the so-called young rebels, a group of younger diplomats who favoured a more aggressive foreign policy of the Dual Monarchy. During the

of 1914, Count Forgách played a significant role in the preparations of the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia and was a vocal advocate for war against Serbia. Considered talented and ambitious, Count Forgách remained in his post at the Ballhausplatz until January 1917. In 1918, he was dispatched to

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

as a representative of the Dual Monarchy. After the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia in November 1917, Austria-Hungary had negotiated a separate peace treaty with the newly created

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

that was signed on 9 February 1918. The so-called Bread Peace was supposed to solve the Dual Monarchy's food supply problem, but as Count Forgách quickly discovered this proved to be an illusion. He remained in Kiev until November 1918 as the situation in Ukraine only became more and more chaotic.'Janós Forgách Graf von Ghymes und Gács', ''op. cit.''
/ref> After the war, Count Forgách retired and spent his remaining years in

where he died on 25 September 1935.

Notes

References

External links

'Janós Forgách Graf von Ghymes und Gács', Solving Problems Through Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forgach, Janos 1870 births 1935 deaths 20th-century Hungarian people Diplomats of World War I from Austria-Hungary Diplomats from Austria-Hungary Hungarian nobility People from Lučenec District Janos, Forgach