Count Francis Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde (''c''. 1610 – 13 May 1667) was a
Hungarian noble, who reigned as
Prince of Transylvania
The Prince of Transylvania (, , , Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the late-16th century until the mid-18th century. John Sigismund Zápolya was the first to adopt the title in 1 ...
between November 1657 and January 1658.
Biography
He was born as the son of Count Francis Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde (1560-1621) and his wife, Katalin
Karolyi (1588-1635), widow of István
Bánffy de Losonc and future wife of
Stefan Bethlen de Iktár, Prince of Transilvania.
As a high-ranking nobleman he served in the Transylvanian army for several years as deputy commander in the service of Prince
George II Rákóczi
George II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I and Zsuzsanna Lorántffy.
Early life
He was elected Prince of Transylvania during his father' ...
.
Francis Rhédey was elected Prince of Transylvania for a brief time while George Rákóczi was on a military campaign in Poland. Very upset because Rákóczi had not requested authorization from the sultan to start the military campaign, the Grand Vizier
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (, , ; or ''Qyprilliu'', also called ''Mehmed Pashá Rojniku''; 1575, Roshnik,– 31 October 1661, Edirne) was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire and founding patriarch of the Köprülü political dynasty. He helped ...
, forced the Grand Assembly to elect Francis Rhédey prince of Transylvania instead of Rákóczi. Soon Rhédey was officially elected as Transylvanian Prince on 2 November 1657, but on 9 January 1658 he resigned in favor of George Rákóczi II, who had returned to Transylvania.
Rhédey later was a member of the Great Council during the government of Prince
Michael I Apafi
Michael Apafi (; 3 November 1632 – 15 April 1690) was Prince of Transylvania from 1661 to his death.
Background
The Principality of Transylvania emerged after the disintegration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 1 ...
. He died on 13 May 1667.
Personal life
He was married to Druzsiána
Bethlen de Iktár, daughter of his stepfather, Prince Stefan by his first wife, Katalin
Csáki de Mihály. They had one son, Count László Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde (1636-1663).
See also
*
Countess Claudine Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde – relative
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhedey, Francis
1610s births
1667 deaths
Princes of Transylvania
People from Oradea
17th-century Hungarian people
