Count Kuno von Klebelsberg zu Thumburg (; 13 November 1875 – 12 October 1932) was a Hungarian politician who served as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

and

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

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 ...

between the two world wars.

Early life

Klebelsberg was born in Magyarpécska,

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 ...

(today

Pecica Pecica (; ; ; /''Pečka'') is a town in Arad County, western Romania. In ancient times it was a Dacian fortress called Ziridava and today it is an important archeological site.Barbara Ann Kipfer, ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology'', p.428. ...

, Romania), as the only son of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Jakob Joseph Konstantin von Klebelsberg-Thumburg (1844–1877) and his wife, Aurelia Karolina Farkas de Felső- et Alsó-Eőr (1847–1897).

Biography

After World War I, the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

, and the ravages of the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Klebelsberg assumed the position of Minister of the Interior in 1921, a post which he filled until the following year. Afterwards, he served as Minister of Culture (1922–1931) and introduced many educational reforms throughout Hungary. Klebelsberg helped create elementary schools in the countryside, began the modernisation of numerous universities, and created the foreign Hungarian cultural institute Collegium Hungaricum to raise awareness of

Hungarian culture Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

in other countries. Klebelsberg is also famous for introducing a progressive policy on

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s for university students. Klebelsberg, however, was controversial with his ideology of Hungarian supremacy, which attributed superior value to Hungarian ethnic culture over the minority ethnic cultures of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (Serb, Slovak, Romanian, Jewish etc.). After the Treaty of Trianon, Klebelsberg's ideology and educational reforms directly served the territorial revisionist and chauvinistic claims of the Hungarian regimes during

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 ...

's reign as a regent. Klebelsberg was antisemitic, blaming the entire Hungarian Jewry for the bourgeois liberal and communist revolutions, and the governments of 1918 and 1919, respectively, for the loss of territories associated with the Treaty of Trianon. In a dramatic outburst in 1924, he asked the Jews to give back Greater Hungary, promising in exchange to lift the

numerus clausus ''Numerus clausus'' ("closed number" in Latin) is one of many methods used to limit the number of students who may study at a university. In many cases, the goal of the ''numerus clausus'' is simply to limit the number of students to the maximu ...

, the first anti-Jewish act introduced in 20th century Europe.Kovács M. Mária. 2012. Törvénytől sújtva. A numerus clausus Magyarországon, 1920–1945. Budapest: Napvilág

Personal life

He was married to Hungarian noblewoman Sarolta Ottilia Botka de Lasztócz (1878–1964), daughter of Géza Bottka de Lasztócz (1848–1880) and his wife, Marta Hekler (1854–1934). They didn't have children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klebelsberg, Kuno von 1875 births 1932 deaths People from Pecica Hungarian people of German descent Ministers of the interior of Hungary Ministers of education of Hungary