Friedrich Robert Freiherr von Georgi

Freiherr von Georgi was appointed Imperial-Royal Minister of National Defence in 1907. In this post he was responsible for the armed forces of the Austrian half of the Empire – the Imperial-Royal Army and the Imperial-Royal Gendarmerie, which he expanded and modernised during his term of office. Freiherr von Georgi was regarded as a great organisational talent. His importance as minister meant that the application he made at the beginning of the First World War to assume a command at the front was refused. He was replaced by Major General Karl Czapp Freiherr von Birkenstetten as Imperial-Royal Minister of National Defence in 1917.