- Count Johann von Forgách
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Johann Graf Forgách von Ghymes und Gács Austro-Hungarian Minister to Brazil In office
29 October 1905 – 19 June 1907Preceded by Eugen Ritter von Kuczyński Succeeded by Franz Freiherr Riedl von Riedenau Austro-Hungarian Minister to Serbia In office
19 June 1907 – 30 April 1911Preceded by Moritz Freiherr Czikann von Wahlborn Succeeded by Stephan von Ugron zu Ábránfalva Austro-Hungarian Minister to Saxony In office
30 April 1911 – 8 October 1913Preceded by Karl Emil Prinz zu Fürstenberg Succeeded by Karl Freiherr von Braun Second Section Chief in the Imperial Foreign Ministry In office
8 October 1913 – 4 January 1917Preceded by Friedrich Graf Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und Szapár Succeeded by Ludwig Freiherr von Flotow Personal details Born 24 October 1870
Gács, Austria-Hungary (now Slovakia)Died 25 September 1935 (aged 64)
Budapest, HungarySpouse(s) Gabriella, née Lovassy von Szakál (1889–1972) Johann Graf Forgách von Ghymes und Gács (Hungarian: János gróf Forgách de Ghymes et Gács) (24 October 1870 – 25 September 1935), was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat of Hungarian origin who played a prominent role during World War I and in particular the July Crisis.
Contents
Life
Born in Gács (now Halič) on 24 October 1870 into a prominent Hungarian noble family as son of Anton Graf Forgách von Ghymes und Gács (1819–1885), who had been of the few Hungarian magnates taking the side of Austria in 1848 and served as Section Chief in the Imperial Foreign Ministry in the 1850s. In 1908, he married Gabriella Lovassy von Szakál (1889–1972) in Budapest and the couple had three children.
In October 1905, Count Forgách received his first major posting as minister at Rio de Janeiro. In June 1907, he transferred to Belgrade where he played a significant role during the Bosnian crisis of 1908.[1] However, he discredited himself the following year during the so-called Friedjung Process which involved forgery of documents a highly publicised treason trial in Agram (now Zagreb) and was sent into professional exile in 1911 as minister at Dresden.[2]
With the appointment of Count Berchtold as Imperial Foreign Minister in 1912, Count Forgách made a comeback in the autumn of 1913 as Second Section Chief (equivalent to head of the Political Section) at the Ballhausplatz. A good friend of Count Berchtold from a young age, he became one of the Foreign Minister's closest advisors and confidants. Together with Count Hoyos, Berchtold's chef de cabinet, he was one of the so-called young rebels, a group of younger diplomats who favoured a more aggressive foreign policy of the Dual Monarchy. During the July Crisis of 1914, Count Forgách played a significant role in the preparations of the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia and was a vocal advocate for war against Serbia.[3]
Considered talented and ambitious, Count Forgách remained in his post at the Ballhausplatz until January 1917.[4] In 1918, he was dispatched to Kiev as a representative of the Dual Monarchy. After the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia in November 1917, Austria-Hungary had negotiated a separate peace treaty with the newly created Ukrainian People's Republic that was signed on 9 February 1918. The so-called Bread Peace was supposed to solve the Dual Monarchy's food supply problem, but as Count Forgách quickly discovered this proved to be an illusion. He remained in Kiev until November 1918 as the situation in Ukraine only became more and more chaotic.[5]
After the war, Count Forgách retired and spent his remaining years in Budapest where he died on 25 September 1935.
Notes
Regarding personal names: Graf is a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin.
References
- ^ Richard F. Hamilton & Holger H. Herwig (eds.), The Origins of World War I, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 118.
- ^ William D. Godsey, Aristocratic Redoubt: The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Office on the Eve of the First World War, West Lafayette, Purdue University Press, 1999, p. 187.
- ^ 'Janós Forgách Graf von Ghymes und Gács', Solving Problems Through Force
- ^ Godsey, op. cit., p. 182.
- ^ 'Janós Forgách Graf von Ghymes und Gács', op. cit.
External links
Diplomatic posts Preceded by
Eugen Ritter von KuczyńskiAustro-Hungarian Minister to Brazil
1905–1907Succeeded by
Franz Freiherr Riedl von RiedenauPreceded by
Moritz Freiherr Czikann von WahlbornAustro-Hungarian Minister to Serbia
1907–1911Succeeded by
Stephan von Ugron zu ÁbránfalvaPreceded by
Karl Emil Prinz zu FürstenbergAustro-Hungarian Minister to Saxony
1911–1913Succeeded by
Karl Freiherr von BraunPreceded by
Friedrich Graf Szapáry von Muraszombath, Széchysziget und SzapárSecond Section Chief in the Imperial Foreign Ministry
1913–1917Succeeded by
Ludwig Freiherr von FlotowCategories:- 1870 births
- 1935 deaths
- 19th-century Hungarian people
- 20th-century Hungarian people
- 19th-century Austrian people
- 20th-century Austrian people
- Austro-Hungarian diplomats of World War I
- Austro-Hungarian diplomats
- Austrian diplomats
- Hungarian diplomats
- Hungarian nobility
- People from Lučenec District
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