Az elfelejtett hédervári államférfi

Abstract

The life and work of Count Károly Khuen-Héderváry (1849-1918), a Croatian minister and two-time Hungarian Prime Minister, was closely linked to Győr County, especially Hédervár. Born in Silesia, raised in Slavonia, then starting his career in Győr and developing in Zagreb and Budapest, the lawyer, politician and statesman spoke German, Hungarian and Croatian natively. He was connected to all three nations, although he always and without exception declared himself to be of Hungarian nationality. In terms of his political views, he can be said to be a conservative liberal, as he became a parliamentary representative of the Győr Sziget district in the colors of the Liberal Party at the age of 26, but at the same time he remained loyal to the court. After completing two three-year terms (1875-1881), the monarch appointed him the chief lord of Győr County in 1882. A year later, he took the seat of the Ban in Zagreb and ruled Croatia for twenty years. From there, the road led to the Prime Minister’s cabinet, a position he held twice. In this study, we examine Bán’s life path, his activities as a statesman, and the Croatian-Hungarian public law relations.