Alois Leopold Johann Baptist Graf Lexa von Aehrenthal (27 September 1854 – 17 February 1912) was an Austrian diplomat. As Imperial Foreign Minister, Aehrenthal formulated and executed the formal and complete annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their integration into the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1908. With the annexation he sought to permanently block in the Balkan south of the Empire the emergence of inter- and intra-ethnic nationalisms amongst the multiplicity of peoples there on the basis of their shared religious beliefs and ethnic affiliations. His actions precipitated an international crisis because he sought to achieve his objectives by negotiation of Russian acceptance of the annexation in exchange for Austrian support for greater Russian access from the Black Sea to the Medi