Count Géza Teleki de Szék (also known as ''Géza von Teleki'', 27 November 1911 – 5 January 1983) was a Hungarian politician and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, the son of

Pál Teleki Count Pál János Ede Teleki de Szék (1 November 1879 – 3 April 1941) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1920 to 1921 and from 1939 to 1941. He was also an expert in geography, a un ...

Private life

While the Hungarian Sea Scouts were attending a

Sea Scout Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...

rally in the summer of 1927 at

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northe ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Teleki was inclined on a cruise to ignore a reprimand from his

Scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

, Fritz M. de Molnár, for failure to carry out a small but necessary exercise of seamanship. Molnár tried to drive home his point by threatening to tell the boy's father on their return to Budapest, but Géza replied, "Oh, Dad's not interested in Scouting." This prompted Molnár to take up the subject of Scouting with Count Teleki, who became interested. It meant that the movement in Hungary obtained the wholehearted support and encouragement of one of its noted citizens, becoming

Chief Scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...

, honorary Chief Scout, a member of the

International Committee The International Committee was established in 1937 order to establish and manage the Nanking Safety Zone. Many Westerners were living in the city at that time, conducting trade or on missionary trips. As the Imperial Japanese Army began to appr ...

for many years, camp chief of the

4th World Scout Jamboree The 4th World Scout Jamboree ( Hungarian: ''4. Cserkész Világdzsembori''), a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from 2 to 13 August 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different ...

, and a close friend of his contemporary

Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

. In 1936 Géza Teleki was a member of the Hungarian

team at the 1936 summer Olympics, playing in all three matches as a forward.

Political career

Géza Teleki pressed for the truce on the end of the Second World War and became a member of the delegation that started peace negotiations in Moscow on 28 September 1944. He also signed the interim truce on 11 October, although this was thwarted by the Nazi-style

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party ( hu, Nyilaskeresztes Párt – Hungarista Mozgalom, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National ...

takeover on 15 October. He served as minister of religion and education in the Interim National Government that formed in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

and was briefly leader of the new conservative Civic Democratic Party, but then taught in the Faculty of Economics of the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

until 1948. He emigrated to the United States in 1949.

Later life

He was a teacher on the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

from 1950. From 1955 he served as

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 ...

professor of the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

. Teleki committed suicide together with his wife, because of their incurable disease. His father,

also committed suicide in 1941.

References

* ''Scouting Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959 p. 165

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Teleki, Geza 1911 births 1983 suicides Politicians from Budapest Sportspeople from Budapest Hungarian geologists Education ministers of Hungary Hungarian male field hockey players Olympic field hockey players of Hungary Field hockey players at the 1936 Summer Olympics People associated with Scouting Scouting and Guiding in Hungary Hungarian politicians who committed suicide Hungarian emigrants to the United States Geza Joint suicides Suicides in Washington, D.C. Children of prime ministers of Hungary 20th-century geologists 1983 deaths

Private life

Political career

Later life

See also

References

External links