Pál Almásy de Zsadány et Törökszentmiklós (1818 – 1 November 1882) was a Hungarian lawyer and politician, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1849.

Career

After studying law he became a lawyer in 1838. He participated in the working of Diet of 1844 as emissary for Heves and Külső-Szolnok County. He served as Viscount ''(vicecomes)'' of the county between 1844 and 1847. He was elected to a member of the House of Representatives in Spring 1848 as representative of

Gyöngyös Gyöngyös is a town in Heves County, Hungary, beside of the Gyöngyös creek, under the Mátra mountain ranges. As of 2022 census, it has a population of 27,957 (see Demographics). The town is located 8.4 km from the M3 motorway and 80.8 km ...

, his birthplace. He was appointed deputy speaker of the first popular representation legislature in April. At the end of the year, during attack of General

Franz Schlik Franz Joseph von Schlik of Bassano and Weisskirchen (Prague, 23 May 1789 – Vienna, 17 March 1862) was a count and general in the Austrian Empire. He was one of the most successful Austrian generals during the Hungarian Revolu ...

he functioned as Government Commissioner of Heves and Külső-Szolnok County. After that, when the National Assembly moved to

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

after fall of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

, he returned to his legislative office. However Speaker Dénes Pázmándy surrendered before

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Windisch-Grätz The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windischgrätz, is an ancient Austrian aristocratic family, descending from Windischgrätz in Lower Styria (present-day Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia). The noble dynasty serving the House of Habsburg achieve ...

in January 1849, therefore Almásy became speaker of the lower house in Debrecen. He announced

Hungarian Declaration of Independence The Hungarian Declaration of Independence declared the independence of Hungary from the Habsburg monarchy during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The declaration of Hungarian independence was made possible by the positive mood created by the mil ...

on 14 April 1849 which contained dethronement of the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

. He was also one of the signatories of the document as well as Speaker of the House of Magnates Zsigmond Perényi and House of Representatives Recorder Imre Szacsvay. After defeat of 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 ...

he emigrated to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1851 the Pest Military Tribunal sentenced him to death ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

''. The sentence was performed symbolically. He had a close relationship with other members of emigration such as

György Klapka György (Móric) Klapka (; 7 April 182017 May 1892) was a Hungarian general. He was one of the most important Hungarian generals of the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848–1849, politician, member of the National Assembly (Hungary), Hungaria ...

László Teleki Count László Teleki IV de Szék (11 February 1811 – 8 May 1861) was a Hungarian writer and statesman. He is remembered as the author of the drama ''Kegyencz'' ("The Favourite", 1841). In older books in English he is given the name "Ladisl ...

Mihály Horváth Mihály Horváth (20 October 1809, Szentes Szentes () is a town in south-eastern Hungary, Csongrád-Csanád County, Csongrád county, near the Tisza, Tisza river. The town is a cultural and educational center of the region. It is the third most ...

but he had a bad relationship with

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 ...

because he condemned Kossuth's personal leadership style. He returned to home in 1859 but still remained in connection with Klapka. He did not appoint himself during 1861 elections but involved in politics actively besides Resolution Party. He started to organize with Lajos Beniczky and István Nedeczky against Habsburg rule and for restitution of Hungarian independence alongside 1848 laws. It was revealed only in 1918 that one of the participants

Lajos Asbóth Lajos () is a Hungarian masculine given name, cognate to the English Louis. People named Lajos include: Hungarian monarchs: * Lajos I, 1326-1382 (ruled 1342-1382) * Lajos II, 1506-1526 (ruled 1516-1526) In Hungarian politics: * Lajos Aulic ...

(father of Union general Sándor Asbóth) was an informer of the Austrian police. Almásy was arrested in 1864 and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in the next year. He released in 1867 after

Austro-Hungarian Compromise The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

when many political prisoners granted an

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 ...

. Then he lived in retirement until his death in 1882.

References

* Jónás, Károly - Villám, Judit: ''A Magyar Országgyűlés elnökei 1848-2002''. Argumentum, Budapest, 2002. pp. 75–79 1818 births 1882 deaths People from Gyöngyös

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

Hungarian nobility Resolution Party politicians Speakers of the House of Representatives of Hungary Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1848–1849) Lawyers from the Austrian Empire {{Hungary-politician-stub