Ladislaus de Szögyény-Marich
Encyclopedia
Ladislaus Freiherr von Szögyény-Marich von Magyar-Szögyén und Szolgaegyháza (12 November 1841 – 11 June 1916), was an Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 diplomat of Hungarian origin who was a long serving Ambassador at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

Life

Born 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...

 on 12 November 1841 into an old Hungarian noble family as son of Ladislaus, a former judex curiae (chief justice) of Hungary.

After studies in Vienna, Baron von Szögyény-Marich entered the civil service and was elected to the Hungarian parliament in 1869 where he represented the Deák Party
Ferenc Deák
Ferenc Deák de Kehida , , was a Hungarian statesman and Minister of Justice. He was known as "The Wise Man of the Nation".-Early life and law career:...

, then the Liberal Party. In 1883, he left the parliament to enter the Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary
Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary
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....

 as Second Section Chief and was later promoted to First Section Chief. On 24 December 1890, he was appointed to serve as Minister besides the King of Hungary and was made a member of the Upper House.

On 24 October 1892, Emperor Franz Joseph I appointed him ambassador to Germany and he presented his credentials to the Kaiser at Berlin on 12 November. He would hold on to this position for twenty-two years, an extraordinarily long tenure even by the standards of the time. He owed his position due to his close connections, in particular Franz Joseph's protection – he had been a close confidant and friend of Crown Prince Rudolf and dealt with the latter's papers following the Mayerling incident
Mayerling Incident
The Mayerling Incident refers to the series of events leading to the apparent murder-suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera. Rudolf was the only son of Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria and Empress Elisabeth, and heir to the throne of the combined...

 –, and not even Count Lexa von Aehrenthal could have him replaced.

Considered shrewd and calculating but also unimaginative, he was a personal friend of the Kaiser and the most senior Habsburg ambassador. On 17 April 1910, he was elevated to the rank of a Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

.

In the summer of 1914, he was still Ambassador at Berlin despite his advanced age and being partly deaf. In order to bypass him, Foreign Minister Count von Berchtold dispatched his chef de cabinet
Chef de Cabinet
Chef de Cabinet is the head of an office in the United Nations Secretariat, appointed by the Secretary-General, or in the European Commission, appointed by an individual European Commissioner for his personal cabinet. The position's rank and responsibilities are equivalent to a chief of staff....

 Count von Hoyos on 4 July as a special envoy to Berlin to request support from the Kaiser for the Austro-Hungarian plans for action against Serbia. Count von Hoyos arrived the following day from Vienna and reviewed the documents with Count von Szögyény-Marich before the latter met with the Kaiser at Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....

 for lunch. In the evening he cabled Count von Berchtold that he had received "full German backing" in any action that Vienna decided to take, even if "serious European complications" resulted, requesting only that it would be done speedily. The Kaiser's pledge was confirmed the following day by Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg
Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg was a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917.-Origins:...

 and Zimmermann
Arthur Zimmermann
Arthur Zimmermann was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire from November 22, 1916, until his resignation on August 6, 1917. His name is associated with the Zimmermann Telegram during World War I...

, the Under Secretary of State. Austria-Hungary had received the so-called 'blank check' promising German support for an Austro-Hungarian attack on Serbia. Count von Szögyény-Marich's action during this critical month has been much debated by historians, some arguing that he did not fully grasp all the intrinsic details in the conversations he entertained with German leaders, in particular that he exaggerated the German support, and that his reports to Vienna therefore were misleading.

Strained by the burdens of the July Crisis, Count von Szögyény-Marich was succeeded as Ambassador by Prince von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
Prince Gottfried von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
Gottfried Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingfürst, Ratibor und Corvey , was an Austro-Hungarian army officer and diplomat during World War I.- Life :...

 on 4 August, his replacement having been discussed long before the advent of war but blocked by his alleged refusal to make a graceful exit.

Count von Szögyény-Marich retired to his estate in Csór
Csór
Csór is a village in Fejér county, Hungary.- External links :*...

 where he died two years later on 11 June 1916. He had been invested as a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1900.

External links

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