page_title: Stephan Burián von Rajecz
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Stephan Burián von Rajecz / Life / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: Baron (1918 Count) István Burián de Rajecz (1851–1922), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary from 1915 till 1916 and in 1918. Magyar: Rajeci báró és gróf Burián István (1851–1922), magyar politikus, 1903–1912 között közös pénzügyminiszter.
context_page_description: Stephan Burián von Rajecz, commonly called: "Baron von Burian" or, later, "Count Burian" in English language press reports;
  was an Austro-Hungarian politician, diplomat and statesman of Hungarian origin and served as Imperial Foreign Minister during World War I.
context_section_description: In January 1915, Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Berchtold was pressured by Germany to make territorial concessions to Italy as the price of securing that country's neutrality. When he acquiesced to the German proposal, he was forced from office on 13 January by hardliners. Baron Burián's name was put forward by Count Tisza, who was a close friend and ally, as Berchtold's successor which was accepted, albeit reluctantly, by Emperor Franz Joseph.
  Baron Burián intended to increase the prestige of the monarchy and to get parity with Germany but also to negotiate peace with the help of the Americans. (He would fail in the latter, after Germany announced in 1916 that it intended to start full submarine warfare, leading the US to prepare for war.)
  A relative moderate, he initially resisted German pressure for territorial concessions as the price of maintaining Italy's neutrality, although he somewhat vacillated towards the end as Austro-Hungarian forces suffered a crushing defeat with the surrender of Przemysl in March. This did nothing, however, to prevent Italy from joining the Entente in May 1915 and declaring war. Considered a protégé of Count Tisza, he proved to be much steadfast in resisting German pressure as regards territorial concessions to Romania at the cost of Hungary. This led to Romania entering the side of the Entente in August 1916. Baron Burián resisted the plan to offer vast amounts of territory to Bulgaria but he did win Bulgaria to the side of the Central Powers in October 1915 and provided for stronger ties with Turkey.
  Baron Burián insisted that Germany treat Austria-Hungary as an equal in all military, economic and political activism, which only antagonised German opinion. He opposed Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, insisted on retention of Austro-Hungarian control on the Balkan front and demanded recognition of Austro-Hungarian interests in Poland. However, he increasingly lacked the material resources to back up his claims for equality with Germany. He further angered Germany and its military leaders by proposing a peace plan that called for the re-establishment of a free Belgium and the return of all captured French territory in exchange for recognition of German and Austro-Hungarian rights in Eastern Europe. As a result of this peace proposal, he was forced to resign in December 1916, which reflected the extent of German control over imperial policy. He was replaced by Count Czernin and returned to serve as Imperial Finance Minister.
  Following the Sixtus affair, the position of Count Czernin had become untenable and on 15 April 1918, Baron Burián was recalled by Emperor Charles I to serve as Imperial Foreign Minister again, with instructions to negotiate an end to the war on favorable terms. Burián sought a compromise peace settlement, a course he had consistently advocated, but the Habsburg Empire’s deteriorating military situation provided him little margin for manoeuvre facing increasing disputes with the German ally. He signed the peace treaty with Finland on 29 May 1918 in Vienna.
  On 14 September 1918, Baron Burián issued a public appeal for all nations to end the war by diplomatic negotiations. On 5 October, he and the German Chancellor requested President Wilson's participation in peace negotiations on the basis of the Fourteen Points. Within weeks, he recognized the weak state of the Habsburg army and that Germany would not agree to the unconditional surrender demanded by the Allies. He resigned from office on 24 October, realising that nothing could prevent the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. He was succeeded by Count Julius Andrássy the Younger and thus became the penultimate Foreign Minister of the Dual Monarchy.
  In 1918, Burián was elevated to the rank of Count (Graf). In the same year, he was invested as a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He had been bestowed with the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen in 1910.
caption: Baron Burián in 1918
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