István Tisza

Hungarian politician

Count István Imre Lajos Pál Tisza de Borosjenő et Szeged (archaically anglicized Stephen Emery Louis Paul Tisza, in short Stephen Tisza; 22 April 1861 – 31 October 1918) was a Hungarian politician, prime minister, political scientist, international lawyer, macroeconomist, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and champion duelist.

The outbreak of World War One defined his second term as prime minister.He was assassinated by leftist revolutionaries on 31 October 1918 during the Aster Revolution, the day Hungary declared its independence, dissolving the Dual Monarchy or Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Tisza was the most zealous adherent of the Dual Monarchy among the Hungarian political leaders and pleaded for consensus between liberals and conservatives.

As a Member of Parliament since 1887, he came to fear a political impasse in the conflict between the unyielding temper of the Emperor and the revolutionary spirit of the extremists.

Tisza stubbornly opposed on principle any governmental redistribution of agricultural land breaking up the large landed estates.He opposed extending suffrage to active duty soldiers; before 1918 only 10% of the Hungarian population could vote and hold public office.

He supported industrial reforms to modernize Hungary, and opposed Anti-Semitism as economically counterproductive.Tisza was unpopular among ethnic Hungarian voters and therefore - similarly to his father Kálmán Tisza - he drew most of his votes from ethnic minorities during the parliamentary elections.

In international relations, Tisza's role model was Otto von Bismarck.In domestic affairs, he followed the English historical school of economics and was heavily influenced by the social and political development of England, which he considered the best way forward for Hungary.

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