Pál Harrer (18 October 1829 – 27 July 1914) was a Hungarian councillor and politician, who served as the first and only Mayor of

Óbuda Óbuda was a town in Hungary that was merged with Buda and Pest on 17 November 1873; it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means ''Old Buda'' in Hungarian (in German, ''Alt-Ofen''). The name in Bosnian, C ...

from 10 November 1872 until its unification with the towns of

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

and

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

to form

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in 1873.

Biography

Pál Harrer was born into a poor farming family of Swabian origin as the son of Pál Harrer Sr. and Katalin Thaller. His mother tongue was the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

. Due to a

congenital disorder A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities c ...

affecting his left hand, Harrer chose an administrative career after finishing his secondary studies in

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Da ...

and Buda. Because of his family's financial situation, he was unable to start his studies in higher education. He entered civil service in 1848, working as a clerk at the Óbuda local government. He was appointed notary of Óbuda on 1 January 1850, when the town was administratively attached to Buda. In 1872, Óbuda received the status of "town with settled council" (or

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle ...

) from King Francis Joseph. Harrer was elected the first mayor of the town on 10 November 1872. He held the position until the election of the first

Mayor of Budapest The Mayor of Budapest ( hu, Budapest főpolgármestere) is the head of the General Assembly in Budapest, Hungary, elected directly for 5-year term since 2014 (previously municipal elections were held quadrennially). Until 1994 the mayor was elect ...

, Károly Kamermayer, on 4 November 1873. Harrer actively supported the merger process. After the unification, Harrer functioned as prefect of Óbuda (3rd district or prefecture of Budapest, today called

Óbuda-Békásmegyer Óbuda-Békásmegyer is the 3rd district of Budapest, Hungary. Landmarks * Aquincum, ruins of the Roman city * Óbuda Jewish Cemetery * Római Part (Roman Beach) History The military camp, then city of Aquincum, located in part of what lat ...

) until his retirement in 1886. His son was the jurist and MP Ferenc Harrer, 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 ...

in 1919, and was a key promoter of the establishment of

Greater Budapest Greater Budapest is the name of Budapest in its present, extended size, as it was created by the ''Law No. XXVI of 1949'' passed on December 15, 1949 and it came into force on January 1, 1950. By attaching 7 towns and 16 villages to the former Buda ...

. Harrer's life-size bronze statue sculpted by László Kutas was unveiled on 5 March 2010 in Óbuda, next to the town hall. A local secondary grammar school is also named after him.

Sources

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrer, Pal 1829 births 1914 deaths Mayors of places in Hungary People from Óbuda Danube-Swabian people category:Hungarian people of German descent