Béla Horváth de Szentgyörgy (29 January 1886 – 3 October 1978) was a Hungarian public servant and politician, who served as Secretary of State for the Interior in the cabinet of Prime Minister

Géza Lakatos Géza Lakatos de Csíkszentsimon (Hungarian title/name: "Vitéz lófő csíkszentsimoni Lakatos Géza"; in German: Geza Ritter Lakatos, Edler von Csikszentsimon) (30 April 1890 – 21 May 1967) was a colonel general in the Hungarian Army duri ...

for a brief time between September and October 1944.

Biography

Béla Horváth was born into a Roman Catholic noble family on 29 January 1886 in

Apatelek Ineu (; ) is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. It is situated at a distance of from the county capital, Arad, it occupies a surface at the contact point of Crișul Alb Basin and Crișurilor Plateau. Ineu is the main entranc ...

Arad County Arad County () is an administrative division ( județ) of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crișana and few villages in Banat. The administrative cente ...

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 ...

(now Mocrea, Romania), as the son of Gyula Horváth (1852–1924), who served as Prefect of Zimbró,

Borosjenő Ineu (; ) is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. It is situated at a distance of from the county capital, Arad, it occupies a surface at the contact point of Crișul Alb Basin and Crișurilor Plateau. Ineu is the main entranc ...

and finally Sikló. Béla Horváth graduated in 1903 from the Reformed Church College in Szászváros (now Orăștie, Romania), where he was a classmate and friend of

Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet Union, Soviet Sovie ...

. He went to

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 ...

and graduated in 1907 from the "School of Law and Political Science" at the University of Budapest (present-day

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...

). Following this, he began doctoral studies in political science at the

Franz Joseph University Royal Hungarian Franz Joseph University () was the second modern university in the Hungarian realm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Founded in 1872, its seat was initially in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca). After World War I, it first moved to Budap ...

Kolozsvár Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

(now Cluj-Napoca). In January 1911, Horváth began his career at the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

in Budapest. His poor eyesight prevented his service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Following the fall of the

Hungarian Soviet Republic The Hungarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Socialist Federative Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived communist state that existed from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919 (133 days), succeeding the First Hungarian Republic. The Hungari ...

in August 1919, Horváth was reinstated to the Ministry of Interior. He was appointed a secretary in the minister's office on 30 August 1921. He became head of a department within the ministry on 30 June 1928. He was granted the rank of ministerial councillor on 24 August 1931. He was entitled as secretary of state on 4 July 1941. In 1926, Béla Horváth married Sarolta Bund (1900–1982), daughter of

Károly Bund Károly Bund (4 June 1869 – 16 May 1931) was a Hungarian professional forestry engineer and an early environmentalist, serving as executive secretary of Hungary's National Forestry Association (''Országos Erdészeti Egyesület''), from 1900 un ...

(1869–1931). They had two children, a daughter (Magda) born in 1927 and a son (George) born in 1931. On September 9, 1944, Béla Horváth was appointed Secretary of State for the Interior, and thus acting minister during the brief Lakatos government, as Minister

Miklós Bonczos Miklós Bonczos ( Nagyszalonta, Hungary 16 September 1897 – Buenos Aires, Argentina 1 August 1971) was a Hungarian politician. * 1915: Graduated Ludovika military academy in 1915. * 1919: Awarded the Order of Vitéz for distinguished ser ...

was ill and unable to fulfill his duties. In that capacity, Horváth collaborated with Swedish diplomat

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

to save the lives of many Jews in Budapest. Horváth provided Wallenberg the use of the Ministry's printing press to prepare Swedish "protective passports," which identified the Hungarian Jewish bearers as Swedish subjects awaiting repatriation. Horváth also ordered Hungarian gendarmes to prevent the deportation from Hungary of any Jewish person, using force if necessary. With the

Arrow Cross A cross whose arms end in arrowheads is called a "cross barby" or "cross barbée" in the traditional terminology of heraldry. In Christian use, the ends of this cross resemble the barbs of fish hooks, or fish spears. In modern use, the symb ...

coup on October 16, 1944, Béla Horváth was dismissed from this position and placed under house arrest. After the war, the new socialist Hungarian government asked Béla Horváth to serve as Interior Minister, but he declined the offer. In 1951, Béla Horváth and family were exiled for several years to

Hajdúdorog Hajdúdorog () is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Hajdúdorog had a population of 8,797 in 2014 (down from 8,888 in 2006), with a population density of 8,997 people per km2. The city is 130 ...

( Hajdú-Bihar County), but then returned to Budapest. Béla Horváth died in Budapest on 3 October 1978 and was buried at the

Farkasréti Cemetery Farkasréti Cemetery or Farkasrét Cemetery (, ) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Budapest. It opened in 1894 and is noted for its extensive views of the city (several people wanted it more to be a resort area than a cemetery). It compris ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, Bela 1886 births 1978 deaths People from Ineu Ministers of the interior of Hungary 20th-century Hungarian people The Holocaust in Hungary Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery