The Opposition Party was a political party that came to prominence during the 1848–49 revolution in Hungary.

History

During the Hungarian Reform Era, several opposition circles appeared. Among the first was the National Circle from which later the Pest Circle split. When the two organizations newly merged, they formed the Opposition Circle which can be seen as the predecessor of the Opposition Party. For the elections of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in 1847, it was needed to establish a new political force. The Conservative Party was created in November 1846 by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

-loyal members of the National Assembly. This gave the final impuls to the József Eötvös-led centralists and the municipalists to aside controversies. After the preliminary party formation meeting on 15 November 1846, they officially announced the creation of the Opposition Party on the 15 March 1847 in Pest at the Opposition Conference.

Lajos Batthyány Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár (; hu, gróf németújvári Batthyány Lajos; 10 February 1807 – 6 October 1849) was the first Prime Minister of Hungary. He was born in Pozsony (modern-day Bratislava) on 10 February 1807, and was ex ...

was named as the president of the party. On the party formation meeting,

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, polit ...

read out the party program that he had written. At the end of the meeting, the famous Hungarian poet

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; sk, Alexander Petrovič; sr, Александар Петровић; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet of Serbian origin and liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary' ...

declaimed his poem ''A nép nevében'' (''In the name of the people''). Ferenc Deák made the final version of the party program and named it ''Ellenzéki Nyilatkozat'' (''Opposition Statement'') which was accepted by the members. After the party's victory in the 1848 March Revolution, it became power holder. The first government in the history of Hungary was formed from which the prime minister,

and five other ministers were members of the Opposition Party (

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in ...

Ferenc Deák, Minister of the Interior

Bertalan Szemere Bertalan Szemere (27 August 1812 – 18 January 1869) was a Hungarian poet and nationalist who became the third Prime Minister of Hungary during the short period of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 when Hungary was independent of rule by the Aus ...

, Minister of Education József Eötvös,

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

, Minister of Agriculture Gábor Klauzál). Two other ministers, István Széchenyi and Lázár Mészáros were independent and Pál Esterházy was a member of the Conservative Party. Until the end of the summer, most of the important political rolls were in the hands of the members of the Opposition Party: they were in the ruling party and also in its opposition. The breakline lyed between the ruling moderates and the opposition formed by the radicals. To the latter belonged among others

László Teleki Count László Teleki IV de Szék (11 February 1811 – 8 May 1861) was a Hungarian writer and statesman. He is remembered as the author of the drama ''Kegyencz'' ("The Favourite", 1841). In older books in English he is given the name "Ladisla ...

, Pál Nyáry and László Madarász. In 1849, the Conservative Party merged into the Opposition Party. After the defeated revolution and the passive resistance of the 1850s, the newly revived Opposition party split into several directions. While Deák and Eötvös accepted the Ausgleich and they were the leaders of that on the Hungarian side, Kossuth and his followers opposed it. They wanted complete independence and rejected the Austro-Hungarian dualism. The followers of Ferenc Deák established the Address Party and the followers of

created the Resolution Party in 1861.

List of notable members of the Opposition Party

Prime Minister of Hungary The prime minister of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország miniszterelnöke) is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their political ...

* Károly Andrássy * Pál Almásy, Speaker of the House of Representatives * József Bajza, Hungarian poet *

Kázmér Batthyány Count Kázmér Antal Ferenc Batthyány de Németújvár (3 June 1807 – 13 July 1854) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. At the beginning he was a conservative aristoc ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

* László Csány, Minister of Public Works and Transport * Ferenc Deák ("The Wise Man of the Nation"), Hungarian statesman,

, founder of the Address Party and the

Deák Party The Deák Party ( hu, Deák Párt) was a political party in Hungary in the 1860s and 1870s led by Ferenc Deák. History The Deák Party was founded in 1865 as the successor to the Address Party. It won the 1865 elections in Hungary, and also w ...

* Menyhért Lónyay,

* Gábor Klauzál, Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade * István Gorove, Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade, later Minister of Public Works and Transport, and leader of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

László Palóczy László Palóczy (14 October 1783 – 27 April 1861) was a Hungarian politician, who served as acting Speaker of the House of Representatives as oldest member of the lower house in 1849. He was sentenced to death after the surrender at V ...

, Speaker of the House of Representatives * Zsigmond Perényi, Speaker of the House of Magnates *

, Hungarian poet, liberal revolutionary * Ferenc Pulszky *

, Hungarian poet,

, later leader of the Resolution Party *

Ágoston Trefort Dr. Ágoston Trefort (pronunciation: a:gɔʃtɔn 'trɛfɔrt 7 February 1817 – 22 August 1888) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education from 1872 until his death. He was the President of the Hungarian Acad ...

, Minister of Religion and Education, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences * Mihály Vörösmarty, Hungarian poet, dramatist * Sebő Vukovics

Literature

* Dezsényi Béla: A Nemzeti Kör a negyvenes évek irodalmi és hírlapi mozgalmaiban. In: Irodalomtörténeti Közlemények. 1953. p. 163-204. * Deregnyei (Kossuth Lajos)
A magyar politikai pártok értelmezése

References

* Hungarian Wikipedia :hu:Ellenzéki Párt{{Circular reference, date=November 2020
A két óriás nem szenvedhette egymást (interjú Csorba László történésszel – Élet és Irodalom)
Defunct political parties in Hungary Political parties established in 1847 1847 establishments in the Austrian Empire 1849 disestablishments in the Austrian Empire