Count Kázmér Antal Ferenc Batthyány de Németújvár (3 June 1807 – 13 July 1854) was a
Hungarian politician, who served as
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 coun ...
during 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 ...
. At the beginning he was a conservative aristocrat politician but his views changed after a journey to Western Europe. He gradually became liberal and learnt the
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 Hunga ...
. In the House of Magnates of Hungary he supported the reforms of the industry and traffic. He also supported the protection of Hungarian products and the liberation of the
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develo ...
s.
At the time of the revolution he fought in
Délvidék against the rebel
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their ...
as a volunteer. In 1849
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 ...
appointed him as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The position's new title shows that Hungary wanted to separate from the
Habsburg monarchy. Batthyány also served as acting Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade. In August 1849 he emigrated to Turkey along with
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, poli ...
. From 1851 he lived in Paris.
References
Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
1807 births
1854 deaths
Politicians from Bratislava
Foreign ministers of Hungary
Agriculture ministers of Hungary
Kazmer, Batthyany
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