Ottokar Czernin, Graf

Czernin, Ottokar, Graf (ôˈtōkär gräf chĕrˈnĭn) [key], 1872–1932, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister. He was an adviser to Archduke Francis Ferdinand. As foreign minister (1916–18) he sought a negotiated peace, but was unwilling to abandon Austrian war aims in Italy and the Balkans. He was one of the negotiators of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Czernin was dismissed after the private peace-making attempts of Emperor Charles I, extended through Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, were dramatically disclosed by the French premier, Clemenceau.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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