SMS Szent István
Montecuccoli's plans for the construction of "Szent István" and her sister ships earned the approval of Emperor Franz Joseph I in January 1909, and by April plans for the design, construction, and financing for the battleships had been laid out. For a full year, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to keep the looming construction of the first two battleships a state secret. This did not prevent rumors from circulating across Europe of two dreadnought battleships being constructed in Austria-Hungary. The French Naval Attaché in Vienna complained to Paris in 1910 of extensive secrecy within the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which manifested itself in several ways. Among these were a ban on photography in the Pola, future home port of "Szent István", and near-constant observation by the Austro-Hungarian police.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Austria)
The year 1720 is considered to be the origin of an independent Austrian diplomatic service, which was when Emperor Charles VI assigned the administration of foreign relations of the Habsburg Monarchy to a separate minister. For about 200 years, the external relations of the Austrian Empire proclaimed in 1804 and succeeding Austria-Hungary remained the monarch's prerogative and his assigned minister not accountable to the Imperial Council nor the Diet of Hungary. From 1809 until the Revolutions of 1848, the office of the Austrian Foreign Minister was shaped by Prince Klemens von Metternich. Upon the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Imperial and Royal ("k. u. k.") Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary was one three common ministries responsible for both parts of the real union. In 1882 Foreign Minister Count Gustav Kálnoky forged the Triple Alliance with the German Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, which, however, could not arrest the proceeding Austrian isolation nor internal nationalist unrest. During the July Crisis of 1914, Minister Count Leopold Berchtold, urged by Chief of Staff Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, issued the fatal ultimatum to Serbia, followed by the declaration of war a few days later.