Count Lajos Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (; 28 March 1868 – 14 April 1919) was a Hungarian diplomat of

Austria-Hungary 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#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

serving as envoy to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

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 ...

Life

Born in

Gyönk Gyönk () is a village in Tolna County, Hungary. History Gyönk was mentioned for the first time in 1280, but the neighborhood (and Gyönk) was already a populated area by then. The village was inhabited by Turks for some time, and by the time of ...

on 28 March 1868 into a prominent Hungarian noble family. His older brother Bertalan (1866–1943) was a politician who served in the Hungarian House of Magnates and his uncle Imre (1825–1898) served as Ambassador to Germany from 1878 to 1892. Count Széchényi entered the

Austro-Hungarian foreign service The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Service () 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 dissolved in 1918. Diplomatic missions ...

in 1892 and served subsequently in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1909, Count Széchényi was selected to lead the diplomatic agency in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

with the title of Consul-General and remained in charge until the outbreak of war in 1914 when it was dissolved. During World War I, he entered military service and served in Serbia.'Széchenyi Lajos, gróf', Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
/ref> In November 1916, Count Széchényi was appointed Minister of the Dual Monarchy at

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

to succeed Count Tarnowski who had been appointed Ambassador to the United States. However, he was transferred to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

already in January the following year to make place in Sofia for Count Otto von Czernin, the younger brother of the Imperial Foreign Minister

Count Ottokar von Czernin Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria ''Graf'' Czernin von und zu Chudenitz (; 26 September 1872 – 4 April 1932) was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat and politician during the time of World War I, notably serving as Foreign Minister from 1916 to 1918. Life ...

, and remained there until the end of the war, being accredited also to

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. After having lost much of his estates after the war, Count Széchényi died at

Kaltenleutgeben Kaltenleutgeben (Central Bavarian: ''Koidnleitgebn'') is a town with a population of 3302 in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography Kaltenleutgeben is located in the southern Vienna Woods near the industrial di ...

on 14 April 1919 at the early age of 51.

Notes

References

External links

'Széchenyi Lajos, gróf', Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szechenyi, Lajos 1868 births 1919 deaths Diplomats of World War I from Austria-Hungary Diplomats for Austria-Hungary Hungarian nobility Lajos, Szechenyi