Baron Ladislaus Müller von Szentgyörgy

Born on 18 October 1855 as son of a Budapest apothecary, he entered the Austro-Hungarian foreign service in 1884 through its consular service, which was a distinct branch separate from the diplomatic corps and the staff at the Foreign Ministry in Vienna.[1] Raised to the nobility in 1896 as Ladislaus Müller von Szentgyörgy, he subsequently served as consul general (with the rank of minister) at Sofia from 1900 to 1904.

In March 1904, Müller was appointed as Second Section Chief (equivalent to head of the Political Section) in the Imperial Foreign Ministry in Vienna succeeding Kajetan von Mérey who had been promoted to First Section Chief (equivalent to an Undersecretary). In January 1909, it was Müller's own turn to be promoted to First Section Chief. Elevated to the rank of a Baron in 1910, he was one of the few products of the 19th century nobility in the Austro-Hungarian diplomatic corps.[2]

On 30 March 1912, Baron Müller von Szentgyörgy was appointed as Ambassador to Japan but returned to Vienna following the Japanese declaration of war against Austria-Hungary on 25 August 1914. On 4 January 1917, as part of a larger shake-up of personnel at the Ballhausplatz, he was appointed to serve a second term as First Section Chief but was replaced already in June by Baron von Flotow. He died in Budapest on 14 March 1941 at the age of 85.

Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as Baron). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.