Who's Who in 1901

This is a short article with a very long pedigree. It was originally compiled by Dr. John Boardman and printed in the first issue of Freedonia and immediately reprinted by Richard Schultz in Brobdingnag No.1. Both zines appeared in the US in about May 1964. Fred Davis Jr. reprinted it in Bushwacker Vol.IV No.6 (May 1975) and Ron Brown reprinted it in Snafu No.15 (October 1981). Stephan Agar reprinted it (with minor corrections) from Diplomag Vol.V No.20 (March 1993). Mark Fek made the most recent correction to bring the article to its present form, printed July 1996 by Thaddeus Black at the Idaho Diplomacy Website. The idea is to give would-be press writers some inspiration and historical detail.

The entries are given in the following order: Head of State, age and dynasty; Prime Minister; Foreign Minister; War or Defence Minister; Navy Minister.

ENGLAND: King Edward VII, 59, House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (later changed to Windsor). Prime Minister: Marquis of Salisbury. Foreign Minister: Marquis of Lansdowne. War: W. St. John Broderick. Navy: Earl of Selborne.

FRANCE: President Emile Loubet, 62. Premier: Waldeck-Rousseau. Foreign Minister: Declasse. War: General de Galliffet. Navy: de Lanessan.

GERMANY: Kaiser Wilhelm II, 42, Hohenzollern. Chancellor: Prince Clovis von Hohenlohe. Foreign Minister: Baron Marscall. War: Graf B. von Buelow (became Chancellor Oct. 1901). Navy: Admiral von Tirpitz.

ITALY: King Vittorio-Emanuele III, 31, House of Savoy. Premier: G. Saracco. Foreign Minister: Marquis E. Viscounti-Venosta. War: General Count C. Panza di San Martino. Navy: Admiral Morin.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: Kaiser Franz-Joseph I, 70, Hapsburg-Lorraine. Austrian Prime Minister: Dr. F. von Koeber. Hungarian Prime Minister: Koloman von Szell von Duka. Foreign Minister: Graf A. Goluchowski von Goluchoro. War: Baron E. von Krief-Hammer. Navy: Baron H. von Spaun.

RUSSIA: Tsar Nicholas II, 32, Romanov. Prime Minister: J.N. Durnovo. Foreign Minister: Count Lamsdorf. War: General Kuropatkin. Navy: Admiral Tyrtov.

TURKEY: Sultan Abdul Hamid II, 58, House of Osman (Ottoman). Prime Minister: Halil Rifat Pasha. Foreign Minister: Ahmed Tewfik Pasha. War: Riza Pasha. Navy: Hassan Pasha.

Edward VII is given as King of England because the game begins in Spring 1901 and Queen Victoria died on 22nd January 1901. After the Ausgleich of 1867, Austria-Hungary had two Prime Ministers but a common foreign and defence policy. Graf is German for Count. Pasha was an honourary title, placed after the name, given to officers of state of high rank.

Other Heads of State of interest include Alexander I, King of Serbia; Ferdinand of Koburg, King of Bulgaria; Leopold II, King of Belgium; Carlos I, King of Portugal; Oscar II King of Sweden & Norway; Wilhelmina, Queen of Holland; George I of Greece and Pope Leo XIII. Spain was ruled under a regency until March 1902 when Alphonso XIII ascended the throne.

This article first appeared in this form in Spring Offensive No.11.