Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal

Count Alois Lexa von Ährenthal (September 27, 1854 - February 17, 1912) was an Austrian diplomat who engineered the Bosnian crisis of 1908.

Born in Gross-Skal, Bohemia (now Hrubá Skála, Czech Republic), he entered the diplomatic service of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, beginning as attaché in Paris (1877). In 1906 he replaced Count Goluchowski as minister of foreign affairs. His major accomplishment was the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 on the basis of a secret agreement with Russian foreign minister Alexander Izvolsky, which appeared to be a triumph for Austria (and won him the title of Count). "It was, however, one of those pyrrhic victories, which seem brilliant at the moment, but which bring more misfortune than success, if looked at from a longer perspective" (Fay, p. 394). It stirred deep resentment in Serbia and Russia, caused the rest of Europe to distrust Austrian diplomacy, and was one of the factors that helped bring about World War I.

Diplomacy

References

*Albertini, Luigi (tr. and ed. Isabella M. Massey, 1952). "The Origins of the War of 1914"
*"Encyclopedia Britannica", article "Aloys, Count Lexa von Aehrenthal"
*Fay, Sidney B. (1928, repr. 1966). "The Origins of the World War"
*Hoijer, Olof (1922). "Le Comte d'Aehrenthal et la politique de violence