Gyula Andrássy
Member of the House of Representatives | |
---|---|
In office 17 April 1861 – 22 April 1869 | |
Constituency | Sátoraljaújhely |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | 18 February 1890 Volosca, Austria-Hungary (today Volosko, Croatia) | (aged 66)
Nationality | Hungarian |
Political party | Deák Party |
Spouse | Katinka Kendeffy |
Children | Tivadar Ilona Manó Gyula |
Signature | |
Count Gyula Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (8 March 1823 – 18 February 1890) was a Hungarian statesman, who served as
Biography
The son of Count Károly Andrássy and Etelka Szapáry, he was born in Oláhpatak (present-day Vlachovo, Rožňava District, Slovakia), Kingdom of Hungary. His date and place of birth, however, are somewhat disputed. According to registry of Košice, Andrássy was baptised in the city then known as Kassa on 3 March 1823.[1] The son of a liberal father who belonged to the political opposition, at a time when opposing the government was very dangerous, Andrássy at a very early age threw himself into the political struggles of the day, adopting at the outset the patriotic side.[2]
Career
Count István Széchenyi was the first adequately to appreciate his capacity. In 1845 Andrássy was appointed as president of the society for the regulation of the waters of the Upper Tisza River. In 1846, he attracted attention by publishing highly critical articles of the government in Lajos Kossuth's paper, the Pesti Hírlap. He was elected as one of the Radical candidates to the Diet of 1848.[2]
When the Croats under
After the catastrophe of
In exile for ten years, he studied politics in what was then the centre of European diplomacy. He discerned the weakness of the second French empire beneath its imposing exterior.[2]Andrássy returned to Hungary in 1858, but his position was still difficult. He had never petitioned for an amnesty, and had steadily rejected all the overtures both of the Austrian government and of the Magyar Conservatives (who would have accepted something short of full autonomy for the kingdom).[2] He enthusiastically supported Ferenc Deák's party.
On 21 December 1865, he was chosen vice-president of the Diet. In March 1866, he was elected as president of the sub-committee appointed by the parliamentary commission to draw up the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 between Austria and Hungary. He originated the idea of the "Delegations" of powers. It was said at that time that he was the only member of the commission who could persuade the court of the justice of the national claims.[2]
In the 1866
As premier, Andrássy by his firmness, amiability and dexterity as a debater, soon won for himself a commanding position. Yet his position continued to be difficult, inasmuch as the authority of Deák dwarfed that of all the party leaders, however eminent. Andrássy chose for himself the departments of war and foreign affairs. It was he who reorganized the
On the outbreak of the
Hitherto the empire of the Habsburgs had never been able to dissociate itself from its historic
To this point Austria had been content either to keep out the Russians or share the booty with them. She was now, moreover, in consequence of her misfortunes deprived of most of her influence in the councils of Europe.
It was Andrassy who recovered for Austria her proper place in the European concert. First he approached the German emperor; then more satisfactory relations were established with the courts of Italy and Russia by means of conferences at Berlin, Vienna, St Petersburg and Venice.[5]
The "Andrássy Note"
The recovered influence of Austria was evident in the negotiations which followed the outbreak of serious disturbances in Bosnia in 1875. The three courts of Vienna, Berlin and St Petersburg reached an understanding as to their attitude in the Eastern question, and their views were embodied in the dispatch, known as the "Andrássy Note", sent on 30 December 1875 by Andrássy to Count Beust, the Austrian ambassador to the Court of St James's.[5]
In it he pointed out that the efforts of the powers to localize the revolt seemed in danger of failure, that the rebels were still holding their own, and that the Ottoman promises of reform, embodied in various firmans, were no more than vague statements of principle which had never had, and were probably not intended to have, any local application. In order to avert the risk of a general conflagration, therefore, he urged that the time had come for concerted action of the powers for the purpose of pressing the Porte to fulfil its promises. A sketch of the more essential reforms followed: the recognition rather than the toleration of the Christian religion; the abolition of the system of farming the taxes; and, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the religious was complicated by an agrarian question, the conversion of the Christian peasants into free proprietors, to rescue them from their double subjection to the Muslim Ottoman landowners. In Bosnia and Herzegovina elected provincial councils were to be established, life-term judges appointed and individual liberties guaranteed. Finally, a mixed commission of Muslims and Christians was to be empowered to watch over the carrying out of these reforms.[5]
The fact that the sultan would be responsible to Europe for the realization of his promises would serve to allay the natural suspicions of the insurgents. To this plan both Britain and France gave a general assent, and the Andrássy Note was adopted as the basis of negotiations.[5]
When war became inevitable between Russia and the Porte, Andrássy arranged with the Russian court that, in case Russia prevailed, the status quo should not be changed to the detriment of the Austrian monarchy. When, however, the Treaty of San Stefano threatened a Russian hegemony in the Near East, Andrássy concurred with the German and British courts that the final adjustment of matters must be submitted to a European congress.[5]
At the
In addition to the occupation and administration of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Andrássy also obtained the right to station garrisons in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, which remained under Ottoman administration. The Sanjak preserved the separation of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Austro-Hungarian garrisons there would open the way for a dash to Salonika that "would bring the western half of the Balkans under permanent Austrian influence".[7] "High [Austro-Hungarian] military authorities desired [an ...] immediate major expedition with Salonika as its objective".[8]
This occupation was most unpopular in Hungary, both for financial reasons and because of the strong pro-Turk sentiments of the Magyars.[5]
On 28 September 1878 the Finance Minister, Koloman von Zell, threatened to resign if the army, behind which stood the Archduke Albert, were allowed to advance to Salonika. In the session of the Hungarian Parliament of 5 November 1878 the Opposition proposed that the Foreign Minister should be impeached for violating the constitution by his policy during the Near East Crisis and by the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The motion was lost by 179 to 95. By the Opposition rank and file the gravest accusations were raised against Andrassy.[8]
On 10 October 1878 the French diplomat Melchior de Vogüé described the situation as follows:
Particularly in Hungary the dissatisfaction caused by this "adventure" has reached the gravest proportions, prompted by that strong conservative instinct which animates the Magyar race and is the secret of its destinies. This vigorous and exclusive instinct explains the historical phenomenon of an isolated group, small in numbers yet dominating a country inhabited by a majority of peoples of different races and conflicting aspirations, and playing a role in European affairs out of all proportions to its numerical importance or intellectual culture. This instinct is to-day awakened and gives warning that it feels the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to be a menace which, by introducing fresh Slav elements into the Hungarian political organism and providing a wider field and further recruitment of the Croat opposition, would upset the unstable equilibrium in which the Magyar domination is poised.[9]
Andrássy felt constrained to bow before the storm, and he placed his resignation in the emperor's hands (8 October 1879). The day before his retirement he signed the offensive-defensive alliance with Germany, which placed the foreign relations of Austria-Hungary once more on a stable footing.[5]
Later life
After his retirement, Andrássy continued to take an active part in public affairs both in the Delegations and in the Upper House. In 1885 he warmly supported the project for the reform of the House of Magnates, but on the other hand he jealously defended the inviolability of the Composition of 1867, and on 5 March 1889 in his place in the Upper House spoke against any particularist tampering with the common army. In the last years of his life he regained his popularity, and his death on 18 February 1890, aged 66, was mourned as a national calamity.[5] There is a plaque dedicated to him in the town of Volosko where he died (between Rijeka and Opatija in present-day Croatia). It is located just above the restaurant Amfora.
He was the first Magyar statesman who, for centuries, had occupied a European position. It has been said that he united in himself the Magyar magnate with the modern gentleman. His motto was: "It is hard to promise, but it is easy to perform."[5]
Family
Andrássy married countess Katinka Kendeffy in Paris in 1856. They had two sons, Tivadar (born 10 July 1857) and Gyula (born 30 June 1860), and one daughter, Ilona (b. 1858). Both sons gained distinction in Hungarian politics. Tivadar was elected vice-president of the Lower House of the Hungarian parliament in 1890.[5] Gyula also had a successful political career.
Count Gyula Andrássy's granddaughter, Klára, married the Hungarian nobleman and industrialist Prince Károly Odescalchi.[10]
Many rumors suggest that Count Andrássy had a long lasting romance with
Count Andrássy had four granddaughters, Klára above, Borbála, married Marquis Pallavicini, Katalin married Count Mihály Károlyi and Ilona war widow of Prince Pál Esterházy, remarried Count József Cziráky.
Honors
He received the following orders and decorations:[11]
- Austria-Hungary:[12]
- Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1867
- Knight of the Golden Fleece, 1877
- Baden: Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1873[13]
- Bavaria: Knight of St. Hubert, 1873[14]
- Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
- France: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
- Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
- Italy: Knight of the Annunciation, 28 November 1873[15]
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion
- Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion
- Ottoman Empire: Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class in Diamonds
- Persia: Order of the August Portrait, in Diamonds
- Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword
- Prussia: Knight of the Black Eagle, 10 September 1872[16]
- Russian Empire:
- Knight of St. Andrew, 1874
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky
- Knight of the White Eagle
- Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
- Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class
- Saxony: Knight of the Rue Crown, 1872[17]
- Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown, 1874[18]
See also
Notes
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
- ^ "Pred 200 rokmi sa (ne)narodil Július Andrássy – naša európska osobnosť. Po tom, ako ho v jeho neprítomnosti popravili, urobil bájnu kariéru". Štandard (in Slovak). Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bain 1911, p. 967.
- ^ May, 1951; pp. 32–36.
- ^ Bain 1911, pp. 967–968.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bain 1911, p. 968.
- ^ Albertini 1952, p. 20.
- ^ Albertini 1952, p. 19.
- ^ a b Albertini 1952, p. 33.
- ^ Albertini 1952, pp. 33–34.
- ^ "Obituary: Prince Paul Odescalchi". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Ministerium des kaiserlichen und königlichen Hauses und des Aeussern", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1878, p. 199, retrieved 18 March 2021
- ^ "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1889, pp. 80, 83, retrieved 18 March 2021
- ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1888), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 63
- ^ Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1886), "Königliche Orden". p. 11
- ^ Italia : Ministero dell'interno (1887). Calendario generale del Regno d'Italia. Unione tipografico-editrice. p. 47.
- ^ "Schwarzer Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1877, p. 13 – via hathitrust.org
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Königliche Ritter-orden", Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen (1873) (in German), Dresden, 1873, p. 5
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1889), "Königliche Orden" p. 40
References
- Albertini, Luigi (1952), The Origins of the War of 1914, Oxford University Press, vol. I
- Andrássy, Gyula. Bismarck, Andrássy and their successors (1927) by his son online to borrow free
- Armour, Ian D. "Apple of Discord: Austria-Hungary, Serbia and the Bosnian Question 1867-71." Slavonic and East European Review 87#4 2009, pp. 629–680. online
- public domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Andrássy, Julius". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 967–968. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Bridge, Francis Roy. From Sadowa to Sarajevo: the foreign policy of Austria-Hungary, 1866-1914 (2002). online
- Burns, Charles Kellar Jr. "The Balkan Policy of Count Gyula Andrássy" (PhD dissertation, Rice U. 1980) online
- Decsy, János. Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy Influence on Habsburg Foreign Policy: During the Franco-German War of 1870-1871 (1979), 177pp
- Diószegi, István; Friedrich, Albrecht. Bismarck und Andrássy: Ungarn in der Deutschen Machtpolitik in der 2. Halfte des 19. Jahrhunderts (1999), 512pp. in German
- Langer, William L. European Alliances and Alignments: 1871-1890 (2nd ed. 1950) online
- Menczer, Béla. "Count Julius Andrazzy, 1823-90," History Today (1969) 19#12 pp 823–831.
- Tschuppik, Karl. The reign of the Emperor Fransis Joseph (1930) online
- Wank, Solomon. "Foreign Policy and the Nationality Problem in Austria-Hungary, 1867–1914." Austrian History Yearbook 3.3 (1967): 37–56.
External links
- Andrássy's Speeches (in Hungarian) edited by Béla Léderer (Budapest, 1891)
- Memoir (in Hungarian) by Benjamin Kállay (Budapest, 1891)
- Eulogy (in Hungarian) in the Akadémiai Értesítő, Évfolyam 14 (Budapest, 1891)
- Recollections of Count Andrássy (in Hungarian), by Manó Kónyi (Budapest, 1891)
- von Wertheimer, Eduard (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 30 (12th ed.). p. 138. .