Béla Horváth de Szentgyörgy (29 January 1886 – 3 October 1978) was a Hungarian public servant and politician, who served as Secretary of State for the Interior in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Géza Lakatos Géza Lakatos de Csíkszentsimon (Hungarian title/name: "Vitéz lófő csíkszentsimoni Lakatos Géza"; in German: Geza Ritter Lakatos, Edler von Csikszentsimon) (30 April 1890 – 21 May 1967) was a colonel general in the Hungarian Army during ...

for a brief time between September and October 1944.

Biography

Béla Horváth was born into a Roman Catholic noble family on 29 January 1886 in Apatelek,

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( judeţ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

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 ...

(now Mocrea, Romania), as the son of Gyula Horváth (1852–1924), who served as Prefect of Zimbró, Apatelek, Borosjenő and finally Sikló. Béla Horváth graduated in 1903 from the Reformed Church College in Szászváros (now Orăștie, Romania), where he was a classmate and friend of

Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Commu ...

. He went to

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 ...

and graduated in 1907 from the "School of Law and Political Science" at the University of Budapest (present-day

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University ( hu, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, ELTE) is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in Hung ...

). Following this, he began doctoral studies in political science at the

Franz Joseph University Royal Hungarian Franz Joseph University ( hu, Magyar Királyi Ferenc József Tudományegyetem) was the second modern university in the Hungarian realm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Founded in 1872, its seat was initially in Kolozsvár (Cluj ...

Kolozsvár ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , l ...

(now Cluj-Napoca). In January 1911, Horváth began his career at the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

in Budapest. His poor eyesight prevented his service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Following the fall of the

Hungarian Soviet Republic The Socialist Federative Republic of Councils in Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szocialista Szövetséges Tanácsköztársaság) (due to an early mistranslation, it became widely known as the Hungarian Soviet Republic in English-language sources ( ...

in August 1919, Horváth was reinstated to the Ministry of Interior. He was appointed a secretary in the minister's office on 30 August 1921. He became head of a department within the ministry on 30 June 1928. He was granted the rank of ministerial councillor on 24 August 1931. He was entitled as secretary of state on 4 July 1941. In 1926, Béla Horváth married Sarolta Bund (1900–1982), daughter of

Károly Bund Károly Bund (4 June 1869 – 16 May 1931) was a Hungarian professional forestry engineer and an early environmentalist, serving as executive secretary of Hungary's National Forestry Association (''Országos Erdészeti Egyesület''), from 1900 unt ...

(1869–1931). They had two children, a daughter (Magda) born in 1927 and a son (George) born in 1931. On September 9, 1944, Béla Horváth was appointed Secretary of State for the Interior, and thus acting minister during the brief Lakatos government, as Minister Miklós Bonczos was ill and unable to fulfill his duties. In that capacity, Horváth collaborated with Swedish diplomat

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...

to save the lives of many Jews in Budapest. Horváth provided Wallenberg the use of the Ministry's printing press to prepare Swedish "protective passports," which identified the Hungarian Jewish bearers as Swedish subjects awaiting repatriation. Horváth also ordered Hungarian gendarmes to prevent the deportation from Hungary of any Jewish person, using force if necessary. With the

Arrow Cross A cross whose arms end in arrowheads is called a "cross barby" or "cross barbée" in the traditional terminology of heraldry. In Christian use, the ends of this cross resemble the barbs of fish hooks, or fish spears. This alludes to the Ichth ...

coup on October 16, 1944, Béla Horváth was dismissed from this position and placed under house arrest. After the war, the new Hungarian government asked Béla Horváth to serve as Interior Minister, but he declined the offer. In 1951, Béla Horváth and family were exiled for several years to Hajdúdorog (

Hajdú-Bihar County Hajdú-Bihar ( hu, Hajdú-Bihar megye, ) is an administrative county ( comitatus or megye) in eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Jász-Na ...

), but then returned to Budapest. Béla Horváth died in Budapest on 3 October 1978 and was buried at the

Farkasréti Cemetery Farkasréti Cemetery or Farkasrét Cemetery ( hu, Farkasréti temető) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Budapest. It opened in 1894 and is noted for its extensive views of the city (several people wanted it more to be a resort area than a c ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, Bela 1886 births 1978 deaths People from Ineu 20th-century Hungarian people The Holocaust in Hungary Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery