Károlyi, Mihály |
| STATESMAN (HUNGARY) |
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BORN 4 Mar 1875, Fót - DIED 19 Mar 1955, Vence, Alpes-Maritimes GRAVE LOCATION Budapest: Kerepesi cemetery (22 ) |
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Mihály Károlyi came from a very rich family. In 1909 he became president of the National Agricultural Society and in 1910 he was elected into parliament for the Party of Independence. In 1914 he married Countess Katalin Andrássy de Csik-Szent-Király. They had three children. In 1914 he was a proponent of the First World War, but his opinion changed and he became more critical of the war. In 1916 he had become too radical for his party and he started a new one, the United Party of Independence and of 1848, better known as the Károlyi Party. His party had only 20 members in parliament, but after the Aster Revolution of 1918 he was appointed prime minister by Emperor Karl in an attempt to keep Hungary within the Austrian Empire. On 16 Nov 1918 the Hungarian Democratic Republic was proclaimed and he became Provisional President. On 11 Jan 1919 he formally became President. His negotiations with the Allies led to a far worse armistice than hoped for the economic policy of the government led to hyperinflation. In March 1919 he retired from office and withdrew from politics. He went into exile in France in July 1919 and in the Hortha era he was persona non grata in Hungary. During the Second World War he lived in Britain and in 1946 he returned to Hungary. He was a socialist now and from 1947 to 1949 he was Hungarian Ambassador to France. In 1949 he resigned after the execution of László Rajk. He died in France. |
| Images |
 The grave of Mihály Károlyi at the Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest. Picture by Androom (20 Aug 2002) |
Sources • Baedeker Budapest, Karl Baedeker Verlag, Ostfildern, 2000 • Find-A-Grave • Mihály Károlyi - Wikipedia (EN) |
