The
Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary was the ministry responsible for the foreign relations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the formation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 until it was dissolved in 1918.
The ministry was one of the three common ministries (
kaiserlich und königlich, often abbreviated
k.u.k.) created by the
Ausgleich of 1867, together with the ones for War and Finance concerned for the common aspects of the Dual Monarchy, i.e. the Foreign Policy, the
Austro-Hungarian ArmyThe Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
and the
NavyThe Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....
.
The headquarters of the ministry were at
BaroqueBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
Geheime Hofkanzlei on No. 2
BallhausplatzBallhausplatz is a square in central Vienna containing the building that for over two hundred years has been the official residence of the most senior Austrian Cabinet Minister, the State Chancellor, today the Chancellor of Austria . As a result, Ballhausplatz is often used as shorthand for the...
next to Hofburg Palace in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The building was erected in 1719 according to plans designed by
Johann Lukas von HildebrandtJohann Lukas von Hildebrandt was an Italian-trained Austrian architect who designed many stately buildings and churches...
. The word
Ballhausplatz was often used as a
metonymMetonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
for the ministry, similar to
Downing StreetDowning Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
or
Quai d'OrsayThe Quai d'Orsay is a quai in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris, part of the left bank of the Seine, and the name of the street along it. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai de Branly west of the Pont de l'Alma.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is...
.
The Ministry was led by the Imperial Foreign Minister, who was nominated by the
EmperorThe Emperor of Austria was a hereditary imperial title and position proclaimed in 1804 by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and continually held by him and his heirs until the last emperor relinquished power in 1918. The emperors retained the title of...
and who was also a member of the Crown Council, the highest governing body of the Dual Monarchy. Directly beneath the minister stood the
First Section Chief (equivalent to an
UndersecretaryAn under secretary is an executive government official in many countries, frequently a career public servant, who typically acts as a senior administrator or second-in-command to a politically-appointed Cabinet Minister or other government official...
) who deputised for the minister and was in charge of administrative affairs. The
Second Section Chief (equivalent to a Head of Political Section) was lower in the hierarchy, but was in charge of the political departments of the ministry.
For a list of Imperial Foreign Ministers, see
List of Foreign Ministers of Austria-Hungary.
See also
- 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 :...
- List of Foreign Ministers of Austria-Hungary
- List of diplomatic missions of Austria-Hungary
- Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Austria
The Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs is Austria's foreign ministry and, therefore, responsible for its relations with foreign countries as well as international organisations, especially the European Union...
- Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Hungary
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary is a member of the Hungarian cabinet and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The current foreign minister is János Martonyi....