Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria Czernin von und zu Chudenitz

Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria Graf Czernin von und zu Chudenitz (Czech: Otakar Theobald Otto Maria hrabě Černín z Chudenic; 26 September 1872 – 4 April 1932) was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat and politician during the time of World War I, notably serving as Foreign Minister from 1916 to 1918.

Family

Czernin was born in Dymokury (German: Dimokur) into an ancient Bohemian noble House of Czernin. In 1897, he married Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1878–1945) in Heřmanův Městec (German: Hermannstädtel). His younger brother Otto was also a diplomat and served inter alia as envoy to Sofia during World War I.

Early career

After studying law at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague, he joined the Austro-Hungarian foreign service in 1895 and was dispatched to the embassy in Paris. In 1899, he was sent to The Hague, but only three years later he had to resign as a result of a lung infection and retired to his Bohemian estates.

In 1903, Count von Czernin became a member of the Bohemian Lower House as a representative of the Deutsche Verfassungspartei. He quickly became a champion of conservatism and a defender of 'monarchical principles' and favoured upholding the monarchy and opposing universal suffrage and parliamentarism. This brought him to the attention of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the throne of the Dual Monarchy. As a leading member of Franz Ferdinand's so-called Belvedere Circle, Count von Czernin was appointed a member of the Austrian Upper House (Herrenhaus) in 1912.