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 Army

Austro-Hungarian Army

The 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 Navy

Austro-Hungarian Navy

The 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 Baroque

Baroque architecture

Baroque 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 Ballhausplatz

Ballhausplatz

Ballhausplatz 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 Vienna

Vienna

Vienna 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 Hildebrandt

Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt

Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt was an Italian-trained Austrian architect who designed many stately buildings and churches...

. The word Ballhausplatz was often used as a metonym

Metonymy

Metonymy 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 Street

Downing Street

Downing 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'Orsay

Quai d'Orsay

The 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 Emperor

Emperor of Austria

The 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 Undersecretary

Undersecretary

An 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
  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
  Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (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
  Minister of Foreign Affairs (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....