The Real Consuls of Austria (-Hungaria) 1825-1918

The development of Austrian consulates from the 18th century until the end of World War I and the special education institutes are presented. At the Oriental Academy a focus on language training was most important, while also providing legal and to a lesser extent commercial training. In 1853, the Levantine, and in 1859, the Oriental consulates, were re-assigned from the Ministry of Commerce to the Foreign Ministry. Thus, the political reporting gained more weight. The State Department now monitored not only the training, it also handled job applications and career development. The consuls acted as the main providers of information about the export of Austrian commercial and industrial goods. The consuls were required to submit economic statistics about their district at specified dates. They were even asked to report on goods delivered and solicitation of offers before their public announcement. The Austrian consuls were asked to know about the creditworthiness of their foreign business partners as well as helping with collecting outstanding debts. Insurances deemed the records of a ships cargo verified by a consul as authorative in case of damage claims. In the case of a quarrel between a ships crew and its captain, the consuls had a special, protective role; they could even replace a captain temporarily if needed. For all Austrian and Hungarian nationals, the consulate could perform notarial acts; on behalf of deceased nationals, it could enact probate matters; it was the passport office as well as military draft authority for citizens living abroad. Hungarian nationals could even perform civil weddings at the consulate starting in 1895. By silver and gold embroidery the uniform of consulate employees, the robe of honor, indicated the rank. The uniforms had to be paid for privately. The theory, as palpable in the laws and orders of the day, is contrasted with reality from over 600 case studies and tens of thousands of pages about political events and other publications. The regulated salary of a consulate officer was an important entitlement. The development of a base salary with differentiated bonuses is documented along with the rules to calculate pensions. The consulate staff achieved, in the 2nd half of the 19th century, the benefit of paid annual leave; after World War I, this served as a role model for the introduction of a general annual leave entitlement for workers. The requirement for exemplary behaviour, even in private life, was extended to the spouses. In case of a failure, the pension of a beneficiary would be revoked after a disciplinary process. In practice, I could not find a single example of this. However, I could find accusations of loitering in bad coffee houses or playing cards. Alcoholics were transferred to other places or dismissed after a warning. From today`s view, it is hard to understand that the right to marriage had to be granted through an application. Whoever did not comply was dismissed immediately. Some officials, however, bypassed this restriction successfully without consequences. Efforts toward a transparent personnel policy led to occasional accusations of discrimination. Bourgeois consuls alleged career promotions in favour of aristocrats, while some of those claimed the opposite to be true. The relationship between aristocratic and bourgeois consulate staff member outside work was characterized by contemporaries as unimaginably distant. In early 20th century, Austria-Hungary had four times as many honorary consuls as actual consuls. By 1914, there were only about 2.4 times as many honorary consuls excluding agents. Honorary consuls had to be successful and well known in their business before being accepted. There is hardly anything reported about their education. Usually they were not paid by Austria-Hungary, but they were allowed to withhold the consulate tariffs for themselves. Office location and expenses were their responsibility. Their service increased the prestige of Austro-Hungary and deserved protection by the empire. Honorary consuls had the same duties as effective consults, but without the benefits (pension, paid leave). In practice, hybrid forms existed. An honorary consulate could be assigned a paid consul or granted temporary subsidies. Individual honorary consuls could be granted a pension for themselves and their families, through an appeal of grace. If honorary consul was threatened with insolvency, ties were terminated quickly by Austro-Hungary. The state saved a lot of money by having honorary consuls. Attempts to reduce the number of honorary consuls were not well received in the Foreign Ministry in Vienna; however it led to increased audits with mostly positive results. The collapse of the monarchy posed a personal disaster for many consuls. A few prideful officials, whose private wealth did not make them depend on a pension provided by the successor state, did not submit claims. These consuls had no other source of income and could not find work elsewhere and so were threatened in their existence, therefore some had to accept low paid temporary jobs.