Leopold Berchtold
| Leopold Graf Berchtold von und zu Ungarschitz, Frättling und Püllütz | |
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| Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Russia | |
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In office 28 December 1906 – 25 March 1911 |
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| Preceded by | Alois Graf Lexa von Aehrenthal |
| Succeeded by | Duglas Graf von Thurn und Valsássina-Como-Vercelli |
| Joint Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary | |
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In office 17 February 1912 – 13 January 1915 |
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| Preceded by | Alois Graf Lexa von Aehrenthal |
| Succeeded by | Stephan Freiherr Burián von Rajecz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 April 1863 Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria) |
| Died | 21 November 1942 (aged 79) Peresznye, Hungary |
| Spouse(s) | Ferdinandine, née Gräfin Károlyi von Nagykároly (1868–1955) |
Leopold (Anton Johann Sigismund Josef Korsinus Ferdinand) Graf Berchtold von und zu Ungarschitz, Frättling und Püllütz (Hungarian: Gróf Berchtold Lipót, Czech: Leopold hrabě Berchtold z Uherčic) (18 April 1863 – 21 November 1942), was an Austro-Hungarian politician, diplomat and statesman who served as Imperial Foreign Minister at the outbreak of World War I.
Born in Vienna on 18 April 1863 into a wealthy noble family that owned lands in Moravia and Hungary, he was reputed to be one of Austria-Hungary's richest men. Tutored at home, he later studied law and joined the Austro-Hungarian foreign service in 1893. In the same year, he married Countess Ferdinanda Károlyi (1868–1955), the daughter of one of the richest aristocrats in Hungary, in Budapest. He subsequently served at the embassies in Paris (1894), London (1899) and St. Petersburg (1903).
In December 1906, Count Berchtold was appointed as the successor of Count Lexa von Aehrenthal as Ambassador to Russia upon the latter's appointment as Imperial Foreign Minister. He served with distinction for five years in St. Petersburg and experienced Russia's distrust and fear of Vienna. In September 1908, he hosted a secret meeting between Count Lexa von Aehrenthal and the Russian Foreign Minister Izvolsky at his estate at Buchlau in Moravia. This meeting produced the so-called Buchlau bargain and led to the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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