Vezető magyar tisztviselők a Ballhausplatzon
Senior Hungarian Officials at Ballhausplatz

Summary/Abstract: During the decade following the Compromise of 1867 the official structure of the Foreign Ministry underwent a transformation. Two section heads (Sektionschef), i.e. quasi deputy ministers, were created in order to ensure that the foreign minister had connections with the two national governments and the representative bodies of the two halves of the empire. The post of the Hungarian section head helped the minister to conduct the foreign policy of the Monarchy in accordance with the Compromise laws, with the influence and cooperation of the two national governments. The essay, presenting the careers of the Hungarian section heads, attempts to find an answer to the question whether the Hungarian section heads were in fact serving the Monarchy or the „nation”. 1) It would seem that while during the first part of the period under discussion the Hungarian section heads came from the Hungarian political arena, by the late 1890s the Ballhausplatz had brought up its own apparatus, which would, by necessity, have a relationship with Hungarian political life different from that of its predecessor. 2) The leading Hungarian officials of the Ballhausplatz, especially during the early decades, were tied with strong family connections to the loyal (to the dynasty) traditions of Hungarian conservative politics. This fact made it difficult for Hungarian politics to regard them not as Viennese Beamters, but as the representatives of Hungarian interests in Vienna. 3) The post of Hungarian section head provided an institutional possibility to secure Hungarian replacements for the Foreign Ministry. 4) The generally accepted thesis that service in Vienna required the abandonment of one's national identity would seem to be highly questionable, at least in the case of high ranking officials.

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