Born in Vienna on 12 November 1841 into an old Hungarian noble family as son of László, a former judex curiae (chief justice) of Hungary.

In 1861, he became the deputy notary of Fejér County, and two years later, he was appointed as a law clerk at the Royal Court of Appeal in Pest.

[1] On 24 October 1892, Emperor Franz Joseph I appointed him ambassador to Germany and he presented his credentials to the Kaiser at Berlin on 12 November.

Nevertheless it was indeed Szőgyény-Marich who delivered the historically important letter from the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph (dated 2.July) to the German counterpart, Wilhelm II at 5.July.

Strained by the burdens of the July Crisis, Count Szőgyény-Marich was succeeded as Ambassador by Prince von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst on 4 August, his replacement having been discussed long before the advent of war but blocked by his alleged refusal to make a graceful exit.