Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya II (; ; 14 February 1907 – 28 March 1993) was the younger son of Hungarian regent Admiral

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...

and, until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a politician.

Biography

In his youth, Miklós Horthy Jr. and his older brother, István, were active members of a Roman Catholic Scout troop of the Hungarian Scout Association ('' Magyar Cserkészszövetség''), although they were both Protestant. For a time, Miklós Jr. was the Hungarian ambassador to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. After the death of István in 1942, Miklós Jr. became more powerful in his father's government and supported his efforts to end the involvement of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

with the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

. But on October 15, 1944,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

launched

Operation Panzerfaust Operation Panzerfaust () was a military operation undertaken in October 1944 by the German to ensure the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary would remain a German ally in World War II. When German leader Adolf Hitler received wo ...

. As part of this operation, Miklós Jr. was kidnapped by German

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

s led by

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Standartenführer'' in the ''Waffen-SS'' during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including the removal from power ...

, and threatened with death unless his father resigned and agreed to appoint the

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party (, , 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 Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to ...

as the new government. His father complied, and Horthy Jr. survived the war (he became the only one of Horthy’s four children to outlive their father). While his father was placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, the younger Miklós was sent to the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

. Late in April 1945, Miklós Jr. was taken to Tyrol with other prominent inmates of Dachau. There the SS abandoned their prisoners as Allied forces advanced. The younger Miklós Horthy was liberated by the Fifth U.S. Army on May 5, 1945. Father and son went into exile in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, where Miklós Horthy Jr. lived almost fifty years before dying at

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

, near Lisbon, in 1993. He had two daughters with his first wife Countess Mária Consueló Károlyi (1905–1976), Zsófia Horthy (1928–2004, Mrs Henry Freytag, then Mrs Charles Filliettaz) and Nicolette Horthy (1929–1990, Baroness Georg Bachofen von Echt). He was also a founding partner of Hovione, a Portuguese pharmaceutical company.Hovione website:

'

References

1907 births 1993 deaths People from Pula Hungarian politicians Hungarian nobility Ambassadors of Hungary to Brazil Dachau concentration camp survivors Miklos II Hungarian anti-communists Kidnapped Hungarian people Missing person cases in Hungary Hungarian International Olympic Committee members Children of heads of state {{Hungary-politician-stub