Baron Ladislaus Müller von Szentgyörgy

Ladislaus Freiherr Müller von Szentgyörgy (Hungarian: László báró Müller de Szentgyörgy) (18 October 1855 – ?) was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat of Hungarian origin serving as Ambassador at Tokyo at the outbreak of World War I.

Life

Born on 18 October 1855 as son of a Budapest apothecary, he entered the Austro-Hungarian foreign service in 1884 through its consular service, which was a distinct branch separate from the diplomatic corps and the staff at the Foreign Ministry in Vienna.^[1] Raised to the nobility in 1896, he subsequently served as consul general (with the rank of minister) at Sofia from 1900 to 1904.

In March 1904, von Müller was appointed as Second Section Chief (equivalent to head of the Political Section) in the Imperial Foreign Ministry in Vienna succeeding Kajetan von Mérey who had been promoted to First Section Chief (equivalent to an Undersecretary). In January 1909, it was von Müller's own turn to be promoted to First Section Chief. Elevated to the rank of a Baron in 1910, he was one of the few products of the 19th century nobility in the Austro-Hungarian diplomatic corps.^[2]

On 30 March 1912, Baron von Müller was appointed as Ambassador to Japan but returned to Vienna following the Japanese declaration of war against Austria-Hungary on 25 August 1914. On 4 January 1917, as part of a larger shake-up of personnel at the Ballhausplatz, he was appointed to serve a second term as First Section Chief but was replaced already in June by Baron von Flotow.

Notes

Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as Baron), which is now legally a part of the last name. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References