Tamás Péchy de Pécsújfalu (6 December 1828 – 17 September 1897) was a Hungarian nobleman and politician, who served as Minister of Public Works and Transport (1875–1880) and as Speaker of the House of Representatives (1880–1892). He also functioned as Inspector of the Lutheran Diocese of Tisza from 1876 to 1897.

Biography

He was born in the Péchy family estate in Alsókázsmárk (today: ''Kázsmárk'',

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén ( hu, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megye, ; sk, Boršodsko-abovsko-zemplínska) is an administrative county ( comitatus or ''megye)'' in north-eastern Hungary (commonly called "Northern Hungary"), on the border with Slovakia ( K ...

). His parents were Tamás Péchy, Sr. (1792–1862), who came from the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

branch of the family, Chief Constable of Szikszó District, later court judge; and Katalin Bárczay (1802–1832) who died young. He had three older siblings: both of his brothers (Gábor 822–1877and István 826–1905 became Hussar Lieutenants, while his sister, Katalin (1820–1905) married to Antal Darvas de Nagyrét, brother of Lord Lieutenant (Count; ''comes'') of

Abaúj-Torna County Abaúj-Torna ( sk, Abov-Turňa, german: Abaujwar-Tornau, la, comitatus Abaujvar-Tornensis) was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its capital was Kassa (present-day Košice). Its territory is now divided between Hung ...

Imre Darvas.A Nagyréthei Darvas család
/ref> Péchy started studies in his birthplace under the supervision of Pál Lukács. He finished secondary school studies in Eperjes and

Sárospatak Sárospatak (german: Potok am Bodroch; la, Potamopolis; sk, Šarišský Potok or ; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply ''Pa ...

. During this time his educator was

Mihály Tompa Mihály Tompa (September 28, 1819 – July 30, 1868), was a Hungarian lyric poet, Calvinist minister and corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Together with János Arany and Sándor Petőfi they formed the triumvirate of you ...

. After graduating in Law Academy he worked as a draftsman, but when the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...

broke out he joined to the revolutionary army. He fought through the war of independence and promoted to Captain. After Surrender at Világos he was arrested and enlisted in the

Imperial Austrian Army The Imperial-Royal or Imperial Austrian Army (german: Kaiserlich-königliche Armee, abbreviation "K.K. Armee") was strictly speaking, the armed force of the Holy Roman Empire under its last monarch, the Habsburg Emperor Francis II, although in r ...

where served for half a year. After that he traveled to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

where he studied

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

and other

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

. After returning home he managed the family's estates.

Political career

He began hia political career in 1861 when he became leading committee of

Abaúj County Abaúj ( la, comitatus Abaujvariensis, sk, Abov, german: Neuburg or ) is a historic administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. In parts of the 19th century, and in the beginning of the 20th century, it was united with Torna Coun ...

. He quickly rose in the hierarchy, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant (Viscount; ''vicecomes'') in 1867 but one year later he resigned and became representative of Szikszó District. He was a supporter of

Kálmán Tisza Kálmán Tisza de Borosjenő (archaic English: Coloman Tisza, or Koloman Tisza; 16 December 1830 – 23 March 1902) was the Hungarian prime minister between 1875 and 1890. He is credited with the formation of a consolidated Magyar governme ...

and participated in working of House of Representatives as a member of the Centre Left. His party merged into Deák Party as a result Péchy joined newly established Liberal Party in 1875. He was appointed Minister of Public Works and Transport on 2 March 1875 in the cabinets of Béla Wenckheim and Kálmán Tisza. He held his office until 1880. He began nationalization of the railways (etc.

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

line) which was developed successfully by

Gábor Baross Noble Gábor Baross de Bellus (6 July 1848 – 8 May 1892) was a Hungarian statesman in Hungarian parliament, was born at Barossháza now Pružina near Trencsén (now Trenčín, Slovakia). He was for a time one of the professors there under C ...

. Furthermore, his most important activity was the railways' case management language make to

Hungarian language Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian ...

. He was appointed Speaker of the House of Representatives on 14 April 1880 succeeding

József Szlávy József Szlávy de Érkenéz et Okány (23 November 1818 in Győr – 8 August 1900 Zsitvaújfalu, (today Nová Ves nad Žitavou, Slovakia)) was a Hungarian politician who served as prime minister from 1872 to 1874, as Speaker of the House of ...

who became Joint Finance Minister of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. This assignment was represented for 12 years by him. In 1892 the Liberal Party replaced him with Dezső Bánffy. After adoption of the new Church Policy Act he withdrew from the party. He was elected group leader of the non-partisans.

Family

Péchy married Albertina Mensáros de Nagykerek, daughter of Károly Mensáros and Mária Péchy, on 28 May 1857 in Átány,

Heves County Heves county ( hu, Heves megye, ) lies in northern Hungary, between the right bank of the river Tisza and the Mátra and Bükk mountains. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Pest, Nógrád, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Jász-Nagykun ...

. They had ten children.

References

External links

* Jónás, Károly - Villám, Judit: ''A Magyar Országgyűlés elnökei 1848-2002''. Argumentum, Budapest, 2002. pp. 113–116
Életrajza
az 1896-1901-es országgyűlési almanachban * Hungarian Biographical Lexicon * ''Vasárnapi Újság'', 1875. 10. szám, 1878. 45. szám, 1880. szám, 1891. 29. szám, 1897. 38. szám * Szinnyei, József: ''Magyar írók élete és munkái X. (Ótócska–Popea).'' Budapest. Hornyánszky. 1905. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pechy, Tamas 1828 births 1897 deaths 19th-century Hungarian politicians Hungarian nobility Hungarian Lutherans Speakers of the House of Representatives of Hungary Public Works and Transport ministers of Hungary People from Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County 19th-century Lutherans Left Centre politicians