Ferenc Deák de Kehida | |
|---|---|
 Deákc. 1870 | |
| 1stMinister of Justice of Hungary | |
| In office 17 March 1848 – 2 October 1848 | |
| Prime Minister | Lajos Batthyány |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Succeeded by | Sebő Vukovics |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1803-10-17)17 October 1803 |
| Died | 28 January 1876(1876-01-28) (aged 72) |
| Resting place | Kerepesi Cemetery |
| Political party | Opposition Party (1847–1849) Address Party (1861) Deák Party (1865–1875) Liberal Party (1875–1876) |
| Parent(s) | Erzsébet Sibrik Ferenc Deák |
Ferenc Deák de Kehida (archaically English:Francis Deak,[1]Croatian:Franjo Deák; 17 October 1803 – 28 January 1876) was a Hungarian statesman and Minister of Justice. He was known as "The Wise Man of the Nation" and one of the greatest figures of Hungary'sliberal movement.[2][3]
He was an instrumental contributor to a number of major events in Hungarian history, including passing and support of theApril laws, theAustro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 andthe Hungarian Nationalities Law (1868).[4] While generally supporting reformist policies, he was well recognized for finding and negotiating reasonable middle ground compromises between various extremist political factions throughout his career.
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Born inSöjtör in thecounty of Zala, in southwestern Hungary, Deák belonged to an ancient noble family. His father was Ferenc Deák de Kehida (1761–1808), jurist, landowner, chief magistrate of the district (főszolgabíró) of Kapornak. His mother was the noble lady Erzsébet Sibrik de Szarvaskend et Óvár (1768–1803). He studied law, and became successively an advocate and notary.
His reputation was quickly established, and he first went into politics in 1833 when he attended the assembly ofPressburg (now Bratislava) as a replacement for his older brother Antal Deák de Kehida (1789–1842), beginning his career that would make him one of the most important personalities in the Hungarian politics and reforms of the 1840s. His name became known as a result of his involvement in the suit ofMiklós Wesselényi and his success in declaring the Hungarian Assembly's right to create laws.
In 1836, Deák wrote and distributed a document about the causes that he supported without the permission of the censors; while it was confiscated, it was already widespread and made his name familiar in important circles. During theDiet of 1839–1840 Deák succeeded in bringing about an understanding between a reactionary government, then in want of money, and a Liberal opposition determined that the nation should have its political privileges respected.[5] He was involved in the creation of the laws of that Diet, and became honorary member of theHungarian Academy of Sciences. After the death of his brother in 1842, he liberated hisserfs and voluntarily chose to pay taxes to show that he was sincere about his reforms. The abolition of the exemption of the nobles from all taxation in the Kingdom of Hungary and the liberation of serfs were some of the most important endeavours of the Reformist movement of the era. However, he refused to attend the Diet of 1843–44, supposedly due to strife surrounding his election.
In 1846, after the bloody end of thePolish uprising in Galicia the reformers gained popularity and they released the"Ellenzéki nyilatkozat" (Manifesto of Opposition) under the name of Deák, while it was in fact created byKossuth. During theHungarian Revolution of 1848 against theAustrian Empire, Deák stayed calm and opposed violence as a political tool. In 1848 he accepted a position as Minister of Justice in theBatthyány Government,[5] mostly to show his support ofLajos Batthyány.[6]
Once part of the revolutionary government, Deák continued to urge moderation and made several trips to the court inVienna, seeking a compromise between theHabsburg monarchy and Kossuth's Extremist Liberals.[5] When his efforts failed, he resigned his ministerial post, but remained a Member of Parliament, defending the constitutional legitimacy of theApril laws. He retired to his estate at Kehida before the end of the War of Independence, and took no further active part in events surrounding the revolution. An Austrian court martial acquitted him after Hungary's defeat.[6]
Deák spent most of the 1850s in semi-retirement, tacitly supporting various national causes without engaging in active politics. He, however, refused to assume any public role, office or position, thus becoming an emblem of the so-calledpassive resistance. He sold his estate toIstván Széchenyi, and moved to Buda to become the de facto leader of Hungarian public life. He steered a middle course between advocates of a second anti-Habsburg uprising aligned withKossuth, and pro-Austrian collaborationists. The crisis attending theSecond Italian War of Independence in 1859, with strong Hungarian popular support for the Italian cause, returned him to active political life, although he opposed the initial Austrian reform proposals of 1860. In 1861, he became the leader of the group calling for a petition to the Austrian crown, throwing the onus for a settlement onto the Habsburg court. In response to his prompting,Franz Joseph I dismissed his current administration and called for a new parliament to negotiate the settlement. Deák led the committee tasked with drafting a formula, working alongsideKálmán Tisza and other prominent contemporary politicians. TheAustro-Prussian War of 1866 came just as they had completed their work, but Deák resisted extremist pressure to reopen the issue.
Gradually, Deák moderated his views on Hungary's independence. Although he maintained that the April Laws were fully valid, he began taking the line that foreign affairs, defence and finance were "common" to both Austria and Hungary under thePragmatic Sanction of 1713. He believed that a constitutional arrangement could be worked out to incorporate these ideas while still respecting Hungary's internal independence. He supported the "Compromise" (Ausgleich orKiegyezés) of 1867, which incorporated these ideas, with all his strength, leading the delegation that signed the actual accord. Although he was the obvious choice as the first prime minister ofthe Hungarian half of the newly formedAustria-Hungary, he stood down in favour ofGyula Andrássy.After 1867 his health was weakened by continuous work and the attacks on him by disappointed radical patriots used up most of his strength. His reformist ideas were often rejected by Parliament.
He died on 28 January 1876 and was buried with great pomp. Parliament created a law to remember his excellent service and ordered that a statue be created from national donations. Today one of the central squares of Budapest,Deák Ferenc Square is named after him, which is where three of the four lines of theBudapest Metro come together.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Deák, Francis". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 895–896.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by position established | Minister of Justice 1848 | Succeeded by |
