Ágoston Trefort
Ágoston Trefort | |
---|---|
Minister of Religion and Education of Hungary | |
In office 4 September 1872 – 22 August 1888 | |
Preceded by | Tivadar Pauler |
Succeeded by | Gábor Baross |
Personal details | |
Born | Homonna, Kingdom of Hungary | 7 February 1817
Died | 22 August 1888 Budapest, Austria-Hungary | (aged 71)
Political party | Opposition Party Deák Party Liberal Party |
Spouse | Ilona Alojzia Erzsébet Rosty de Barkócz |
Children | Edit Ervin Mária |
Profession | politician, jurist |
Dr. Ágoston Trefort (pronunciation: ['a:gɔʃtɔn 'trɛfɔrt]; 7 February 1817 – 22 August 1888) was a Hungarian politician, who served as
Family
He was born into a
On 14 March 1847 he married the Hungarian noble lady Ilona Rosty de Barkócz (1826–1870), who was the daughter of Albert Rosty de Barkócz (1779–1847), jurist, landowner, vice-ispán of the county of Békés (alispán of Békés), and Anna Eckstein de Ehrenbergh (1801–1843), member of the illustrious Hungarian noble family Rosty de Barkócz. His wife was also descendant of the ancient and prestigious medieval Hungarian noble Perneszy family, which died out in the 18th century. They had together three children – two daughter, Edit and Mária and a son, Ervin. Through his marriage he was the brother in law of Pál Rosty de Barkócz (1830–1874), a photographer, explorer, who visited Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela between 1857 and 1859. He was also brother in law of the Baron József Eötvös de Vásárosnamény (1813–1871), a poet, writer, and liberal politician, a cabinet minister, who married Agnes Rosty de Barkócz (1825–1913), his wife's sister.
Studies
He already spoke on the time of his grammar school studies in German, in
He started his first big Western European round trip by favour of the paternal heritage and the
Political career
Trefort's interest turned into the direction of the literature in this time. He suggested to foundation of a Művészeti Egylet onto the nursing of the Hungarian fine arts. This was his first appearance before the publicity, and the work society, for which he was the first president, was the result of this. The
On 16 March 1848 (one day after the
Trefort supported the compromise with the Austrians, he was also between the promoters. After death of his wife he moved to Pest. When József Eötvös, his closely friend died in 1871, the cabinet offered Eötvös' ministerial position to him. He accepted the function with only second occasion, so Trefort became Minister of Religion and Education in 1872. He also served as Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade between 21 August 1876 and 5 December 1878.
Minister of Religion and education
He continued the development of the civil educational system. A ready program was not at his disposal, but he emphasized the importance of the educating the people. He created the ministry's ninth department, which dealt with the building cases. The commercial and industrial educational forms came into the foreground because of the development of the capitalism. The ministry preferred those types of school, which ones not onto human orbits, but foster onto industry, agriculture, trade. Trefort harmonized the public education with the social needs during second half of his ministerial term.
Eötvös and Trefort's multi-faceted politics yielded the birth of the modern Hungarian higher education. Social political transformation being equal to the capitalist economic development roamed together with this, and the pressure of the economic interests. The society set up his claims opposite the higher education in connection with this. It was the turn of new institutions', departments', laboratories' organization, the change of a curriculum, the increase of the vocational standard as a result of all these.
In 1872 the Polytechnikum became
He created new educational and exam order, a disciplinary regulation, he standardize the universities' organization. Moreover, he provided the opportunities of the school founding, professors with outstanding knowledge. With regard to the Faculty's of Arts development important result creating the institution of the seminars and the study time from three raising it to four years.
Trefort reformed the teacher-training system in 1873. He united the training of the grammar school and secondary school teachers' training. In the interest of the correction of the standard he organized the teacher examining commission, provided the foreign scholarships. He ordered the regular keeping of the methodological meetings in the schools in the interest of the improvement of the teaching methods. the Act of 1883 took action on the conditions of the teacher qualification and the general requirements of the examinations. Trefort regulated the transition between the civil schools, high schools and the training colleges in his orders. He regulated the commercial schools' organization. Suggested it the industry student schools and central Industry School's erection.
In connection with the national question the Magyarization political sketching characterize him, which is after his death, getting stronger turned into really reactionary. He had attacks many times from the denominations' and the left wing. Trefort was struggling along equally to espouse and to develop all of the areas of his wallet. His triple password: public health, economy, public education. He saw the context of the development of the culture clearly with the necessity of the solution of the economic and social questions. Even his literary function served his cultural policy aims.
Academic career
In 1841 he became corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Later, in 1867 he was promoted to full member. He was appointed President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1885, followed Menyhért Lónyay in this position. His ministerial occupation limited his academic activity strongly.
Legacy
A sculpture cherishes his memory at the Eötvös Loránd University. There is a street's name after him in Józsefváros. The Trefort Ágoston Bilingual Secondary School preserves his name in Kispest. The Trefort Ágoston Award is one of the state acknowledgement which can be donated by the Minister of Education. For those ministerial, municipal and institution employees can be donated, who make work rising through longer time in the interest of the education.