Gyula Károlyi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gyula Károlyi
de Nagykároly
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| Prime Minister of Hungary | |
| In office 24 August 1931 – 1 October 1932 |
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| Regent | Miklós Horthy |
| Preceded by | István Bethlen |
| Succeeded by | Gyula Gömbös |
| In office 5 May 1919 – 12 July 1919 In opposition to: Sándor Garbai |
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| Preceded by | Dénes Berinkey |
| Succeeded by | Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám |
| Member of the House of Magnates | |
| In office 31 January 1927 – 28 March 1945 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 May 1871 Nyírbakta, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 23 April 1947 (aged 75) Budapest, Second Hungarian Republic |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Political party | Liberal Party, Unity Party |
| Spouse | Melinda Károlyi |
| Profession | politician |
Gyula Károlyi (born May 7, 1871, in Baktalórántháza – died April 23, 1947) was an important Hungarian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Hungary from 1931 to 1932. Before that, he was prime minister of a special government in Szeged for a few months in 1919. As prime minister, he tried to continue the careful policies of the leader before him, István Bethlen.
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Early Life and Family
Gyula Károlyi was born in Nyírbakta (now Baktalórántháza). He came from a very old and important family. His parents were Count Tibor Károlyi, who was a leader in the Hungarian parliament, and Countess Emma Degenfeld-Schomburg. Tibor Károlyi also looked after Gyula's cousin, Mihály Károlyi. Mihály later became the first prime minister and then president of Hungary.
After finishing school, Gyula studied law at the University of Budapest. He also studied in Germany at the University of Berlin and the University of Bonn. When he came back to Hungary, he joined politics. He became a member of the House of Magnates, which was like an upper house of parliament. From 1906 to 1910, he was the chief official (called ispán) of Arad County. After this, he left politics for a while and started farming on his family's large land in Arad County. In 1915, he became a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Leading a Counter-Revolutionary Government
When World War I started, Gyula Károlyi joined the army. He fought on the Eastern Front as a lieutenant. After the war, he returned to his farm. But Hungary was in a very difficult state. His cousin, Mihály Károlyi, led a revolution, and the old Austro-Hungarian Empire broke apart.
The new Hungarian leaders reduced the army's size. This was to show other countries they wanted peace. But neighboring countries like Romania and Czechoslovakia took advantage of this. They took more land from Hungary. In the spring of 1919, Romanians occupied Transylvania. On March 21, 1919, a new communist government, the Hungarian Soviet Republic, was formed in Hungary.
Many important Hungarian politicians left the country because of the revolution. They went to Vienna, Austria. There, they started to organize against the communist government. Gyula Károlyi also formed his own government in Arad, Romania. This government was against the communists. In May, the Romanians took over Arad and held Károlyi and his ministers.
After he was released, Károlyi went to Szeged, a city controlled by the French army. He restarted his government there. His goal was to end communist rule in Hungary. The groups in Vienna and Szeged worked together. Károlyi's Minister of War was Admiral Miklós Horthy. Horthy created the National Army, and he and Károlyi became friends.
Becoming Prime Minister of Hungary
After 1919, Károlyi left politics for almost ten years. After the Treaty of Trianon, his family lost their land in Arad County. Károlyi then farmed in other parts of Hungary. He became a member of the House of Magnates again in 1927.
He took on a bigger role in politics during the Great Depression. This was a time when the world economy was very bad. For a short time, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister István Bethlen. In this role, Károlyi visited Benito Mussolini in Rome in March 1931.
István Bethlen resigned as prime minister on August 19, 1931. He did not want to make unpopular decisions. Regent Miklós Horthy then chose Károlyi to be the new prime minister. The new government started on August 24, 1931.
In Hungary, the economic problems were very serious. Farmers were hit hard because prices for their products fell a lot. This made life very difficult for many people. Factories and businesses also struggled.
Károlyi tried to save money for the government. He cut the pay of many state workers, like railway workers, postmen, and soldiers. He also reduced social benefits and pensions. These steps did not solve the big economic problems. Károlyi even told his ministers not to use government cars. He himself walked or took public transport from his home to his office.
In September 1931, a bridge near Budapest was blown up. Károlyi used this event to declare martial law. This meant the army had more power. He used it to arrest communists and ban political meetings. This did not truly help the situation.
The ongoing crisis made many people in Hungary unhappy. Different groups wanted changes, like more people being able to vote. They turned against Károlyi when they saw no real improvements. Because of these problems, István Bethlen suggested that Károlyi resign in September 1932. Károlyi was happy to do so, as he had not wanted to be prime minister in the first place. He resigned on September 21, 1932, and went back to his farms. Gyula Gömbös became the next prime minister.
Later Life and Legacy
After his time as prime minister, Gyula Károlyi mostly stayed out of active politics. He became a secret advisor to Regent Horthy in 1936.
Károlyi always spoke out against anti-Semitism, which is hatred towards Jewish people. In 1939, he resigned from all his positions and even left the upper house of parliament. He did this to protest against a new law that was unfair to Jewish people.
He also strongly disagreed with Hungary becoming too close to Germany. During Second World War, he supported the policies of Miklós Kállay. Gyula Károlyi died in Budapest at the age of 75.
See also
In Spanish: Gyula Károlyi para niños
