The Challenges of the Foreign Service Organisation in the Austro–Hungarian Monarchy (1895–1918)

Abstract

The foreign service was traditionally an emblematic and highly prestigious official sphere in the Habsburg Monarchy, which, along with the common army, became one of the last pillar and representation of the unity of the Monarchy following the imperial structural and constitutional reforms of the 1850s and 1860s, the public legal Compromise (or Austro–Hungarian Settlement) of 1867 and the establishment of the dualistic system. The three branches of the foreign service had old institutional origins, and their transformation into a unified system had been conducted in the mid-19th century. The challenges of the foreign service had a major impact on the consular
branch, which, in addition to the ever-expanding caseload, the growing volume of business and the intensive international trade, was also exposed to the Austrian and Hungarian ministries and the growing amount of applicable law due to the dualistic system. This study aims to present
the expansion of consular affairs and the special functions of the consular branch, such as representation in international organisations, by examining the examples of individual imperial and royal consular officials, using Austrian and Hungarian archival material. Finally, I am going to briefly summarise the responses and reform concepts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the above mentioned challenges, with a particular focus on the training of the consular professionals.