Menyhért Count Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (6 January 1822, in Nagylónya – 3 November 1884, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) was a Hungarian politician who served as

Prime Minister of Hungary The prime minister of Hungary () is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the government of Hungary, Cabinet are collectively accountability, accountable for their policies and actions to the National Assembly (Hungary), Par ...

from 1871 to 1872.

Early life and ancestry

He was born to an old

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Hungarian aristocratic family, dating back to 13th century, as the elder of two sons of János, Baron Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1796-1859) and his wife and cousin, Florentina, Baroness Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya et Vásárosnamény (1802-1885). His first cousin once removed was Count Elemér Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1863-1946), second husband of Crown Princess Stéphanie of Austria, who converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

upon his marriage and was elevated into the rank of

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

on 9 February 1917 by

Charles I of Austria Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

Biography

He studied law in Pest and became a member of the Hungarian Diet in 1843, where he was a member of the opposition, though he also opposed the

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

system of

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...

. He was undersecretary of state in the government brought to power by the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

, and fled when the rebellion was put down in 1849. He returned to the country in 1850 with

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

granted. After his return, he championed the construction works intended to provide navigation and

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

over the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

river and had an active role in launching projects in the agricultural and financial sectors. He protested in favor of the autonomy of Protestant churches after the

Patent of 1859 A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

endangered them. He was appointed Minister of Finance under the first constitutional Prime Minister,

Gyula Andrássy Count Gyula Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (, 8 March 1823 – 18 February 1890) was a Hungarian statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary (1867–1871) and subsequently as List of foreign ministers of Austria-Hungar ...

, in 1867, and in 1870 became the Minister of Finance of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. In August 1871 he was raised to the rank of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, and in November 1871 he became Prime Minister of Hungary. He resigned relatively quickly, however, amidst accusations of corruption: He was accused directly by a member of the Diet on 18 November 1872, and was dismissed on 2 December of that year. He became a member of the upper chamber of the Diet in 1875, and died in 1884.

Private life

Count Menyhért Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény was married in

Pest, Hungary Pest () is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the eastern bank of the Danube. Pest was administratively unified with Buda and Óbuda in 1873; prior to this, it was an independent city. In colloquial Hungarian langua ...

on 20 September 1845 to Emília Kappel (1825-1888), the daughter of Frigyes Kappel (1773-1855). They had four sons: * Count Béla Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1890-1869), married his cousin Baroness Mária Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1849-1893) and had issue: ** Countess Margit Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1870-1931), married Árpád Vásárhelyi de Kézdivásárhely (1877-1955) ** Count Menyhért Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1873-1937), married Ilona Kendeffy de Malomvíz (1873-1958), had issue * Count Menyhért Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1849-1884), married Countess Margit Forgách de Ghymes et Gács (1851-1933) and had one daughter: ** Countess Pálma Eleonora Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1880-1967), married to Prince Eugen Zoárd

Odescalchi The House of Erba-Odescalchi () and the House of Odescalchi are branches of an Italian noble family formed by the union of the Erba and Odescalchi families. The Odescalchi family was, since the election of Benedetto Odescalchi as Pope Innocent ...

(1876-1917) * Count Gábor Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1851-1927), never married * Count János Lónyay de Nagylónya et Vásárosnamény (1860-1937), never marriedhttp://w.genealogy.euweb.cz/hung/lonyay4.html

Ancestors

References