Konstantin Dumba
Encyclopedia
Konstantin (from 1917, Graf von) Dumba (17 June 1856 – 6 January 1947), was an Austro-Hungarian
diplomat serving as its last accredited Ambassador
to the United States
and famous for having been expelled during World War I
following accusations of espionage
.
on 17 June 1861 as the son of Nikolaus Dumba (1830-1900), a wealthy Greek Aromanian
-Austrian entrepreneur. The Dumbas, originally from the Greek Vlach
village Vlasti
, in the then Ottoman province of Rumelia
, had emigrated and settled in Vienna in 1817. After completing his legal studies and obtaining a doctorate in law, he joined the Austro-Hungarian foreign service
in 1879. He subsequently served at the Austro-Hungarian Embassy at London
from 1881 to 1886 and then at St. Petersburg, Rome
, Bucharest
and Paris
.
From 1903 to 1905, Dr. Dumba served as Minister at Belgrade
. Then followed four years of service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna, whereupon he was appointed Minister at Stockholm
in 1909 where he stayed until 1912. He was known for being Austria-Hungary's only bourgeois ambassador at the time although he was from a very wealthy family.
On 4 March 1913, Dr. Dumba was appointed as the successor of Baron Hengelmüller von Hengervár, the long time ambassador to Washington D.C. and dean of the diplomatic corps. He presented his letter of credentials to President Wilson
on 24 April 1913. Although the first months in office were calm, the outbreak of World War I would quickly put him in the spotlight.
A first controversy concerned the Austro-Hungarian government's offer of 'rehabilitation' to those of its citizens living abroad and who had fled to escape compulsory military service provided they returned home and served in the army. This scheme ran counter to the U.S. official policy of neutrality forbidding its citizens from actively taking sides in the war. However, a much more serious incident erupted in early September 1915 when media reported that Dr. Dumba had been involved in schemes to sabotage the U.S. munitions industry. On 5 September, the news broke that he had admitted to give an American news correspondent (James F. J. Archibald) a letter for delivery to Foreign Minister Baron Burián von Rajecz
in Vienna. In the letter, he proposed certain measures to hamper the manufacture of munitions for the Allies in the US. The so-called 'Dumba Affair' quickly became a scandal. On 9 September 1915, Secretary of State Lansing
declared him no longer acceptable and requested the Austro-Hungarian government to recall its ambassador. In the note, Lansing charged the ambassador with espionage for having advocated that his government back 'plans to instigate strikes in American manufacturing plants engaged in the production of munitions of war'. On 27 September, the Austro-Hungarian government eventually agreed to recall Dr. Dumba. He left the United States on 5 October and was allowed to pass unhindered through the Entente blockade of the European continent and return to Vienna.
Following his departure, the Austro-Hungarian embassy was led by a chargé d'affaires
(Erich Freiherr Zwiedinek von Südenhorst). Count Tarnowski von Tarnów
was named as his successor in November 1916 but never presented his credentials to President Wilson, thus making Dr. Dumba the last official ambassador of Austria-Hungary to the United States.
Upon his return to Vienna, Dr. Dumba retired from the diplomatic service. In May 1917, he was ennobled and appointed to the Upper House (Herrenhaus), but he would play no further prominent role in public life. In his later years, he became a pacifist and wrote several books, including his memoirs which were published in 1932 and in which he defended his action during World War I.
Although much publicised at the time, Dr. Dumba was not the first foreign diplomat to be declared persona non grata
by the U.S. government. In 1888, the British envoy Lord Sackville-West
had been sacked following the publication of the so-called Murchison letter
during the presidential campaign. It could also be noted that the Dumba Affair also included the military attaché at the German Embassy, Captain Franz von Papen
, who was declared persona non grata in December 1915 and who would later play a prominent role in German politics in the 1930s.
Count von Dumba died in Bodensdorf am Ochiacher See
on 6 January 1947.
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
diplomat serving as its last accredited Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and famous for having been expelled during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
following accusations of espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
.
Life
Born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on 17 June 1861 as the son of Nikolaus Dumba (1830-1900), a wealthy Greek Aromanian
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...
-Austrian entrepreneur. The Dumbas, originally from the Greek Vlach
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
village Vlasti
Vlasti
Vlasti is a former community in Kozani peripheral unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia, of which it is a municipal unit. Vlasti is about 24 km from Ptolemaida...
, in the then Ottoman province of Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
, had emigrated and settled in Vienna in 1817. After completing his legal studies and obtaining a doctorate in law, he joined the Austro-Hungarian foreign service
Austro-Hungarian Foreign Service
The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Service was the diplomatic service carrying out the foreign policy of the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the formation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 until it was dissolved in 1918.- Diplomatic missions :...
in 1879. He subsequently served at the Austro-Hungarian Embassy at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from 1881 to 1886 and then at St. Petersburg, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
From 1903 to 1905, Dr. Dumba served as Minister at Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. Then followed four years of service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna, whereupon he was appointed Minister at Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in 1909 where he stayed until 1912. He was known for being Austria-Hungary's only bourgeois ambassador at the time although he was from a very wealthy family.
On 4 March 1913, Dr. Dumba was appointed as the successor of Baron Hengelmüller von Hengervár, the long time ambassador to Washington D.C. and dean of the diplomatic corps. He presented his letter of credentials to President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
on 24 April 1913. Although the first months in office were calm, the outbreak of World War I would quickly put him in the spotlight.
A first controversy concerned the Austro-Hungarian government's offer of 'rehabilitation' to those of its citizens living abroad and who had fled to escape compulsory military service provided they returned home and served in the army. This scheme ran counter to the U.S. official policy of neutrality forbidding its citizens from actively taking sides in the war. However, a much more serious incident erupted in early September 1915 when media reported that Dr. Dumba had been involved in schemes to sabotage the U.S. munitions industry. On 5 September, the news broke that he had admitted to give an American news correspondent (James F. J. Archibald) a letter for delivery to Foreign Minister Baron Burián von Rajecz
István Burián
Stephan Burián von Rajecz , commonly called: "Baron von Burian" or "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.- Career :Stephan...
in Vienna. In the letter, he proposed certain measures to hamper the manufacture of munitions for the Allies in the US. The so-called 'Dumba Affair' quickly became a scandal. On 9 September 1915, Secretary of State Lansing
Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing served in the position of Legal Advisor to the State Department at the outbreak of World War I where he vigorously advocated against Britain's policy of blockade and in favor of the principles of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations...
declared him no longer acceptable and requested the Austro-Hungarian government to recall its ambassador. In the note, Lansing charged the ambassador with espionage for having advocated that his government back 'plans to instigate strikes in American manufacturing plants engaged in the production of munitions of war'. On 27 September, the Austro-Hungarian government eventually agreed to recall Dr. Dumba. He left the United States on 5 October and was allowed to pass unhindered through the Entente blockade of the European continent and return to Vienna.
Following his departure, the Austro-Hungarian embassy was led by a chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
(Erich Freiherr Zwiedinek von Südenhorst). Count Tarnowski von Tarnów
Count Adam Tarnowski von Tarnów
Adam Graf Tarnowski von Tarnów , was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat of Polish origin during World War I.- Life :Born in Cracow on 4 March 1866 into an old family of the Polish aristocracy...
was named as his successor in November 1916 but never presented his credentials to President Wilson, thus making Dr. Dumba the last official ambassador of Austria-Hungary to the United States.
Upon his return to Vienna, Dr. Dumba retired from the diplomatic service. In May 1917, he was ennobled and appointed to the Upper House (Herrenhaus), but he would play no further prominent role in public life. In his later years, he became a pacifist and wrote several books, including his memoirs which were published in 1932 and in which he defended his action during World War I.
Although much publicised at the time, Dr. Dumba was not the first foreign diplomat to be declared persona non grata
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
by the U.S. government. In 1888, the British envoy Lord Sackville-West
Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville
Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville GCMG , was a British diplomat.-Background:Sackville-West was the fourth son of George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr, by Lady Elizabeth, daughter of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset...
had been sacked following the publication of the so-called Murchison letter
Murchison letter
The Murchison letter was a political scandal during the United States presidential election of 1888 when Sir Lionel Sackville-West was entrapped by a political operative posing as a British expatriate.-History:...
during the presidential campaign. It could also be noted that the Dumba Affair also included the military attaché at the German Embassy, Captain Franz von Papen
Franz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
, who was declared persona non grata in December 1915 and who would later play a prominent role in German politics in the 1930s.
Count von Dumba died in Bodensdorf am Ochiacher See
Steindorf am Ossiacher See
Steindorf am Ossiacher See is a municipality in the district of Feldkirchen in Carinthia in Austria.-Neighboring municipalities:-External links:*...
on 6 January 1947.
Works
- Austria-Hungary and the War (together with Albert Graf Apponyi von Nagy-ApponyAlbert ApponyiCount Albert Apponyi de Nagyappony was a distinguished Hungarian nobleman and politician from an ancient noble family dating back to the 13th century. He was born on 29 May 1846, in Vienna, where his father, Count György Apponyi, was the resident Hungarian Chancellor at the time...
, Ladislaus Freiherr Hengelmüller von Hengervár and Alexander Nuber von Pereked), New York, Austro-Hungarian Consulate-general, 1915. - Zehn Jahre Völkerbund, 1930.
- Dreibund und Ententepolitik in der Alten und Neuen Welt, Zurich, Amalthea verlag, 1931 (Memoirs of a diplomat, translated by Ian Morrow, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1932.)