Deak

Deak, Francis (1803-1876), a Hungarian politician, born at Kehida, in Szalad, of a very ancient noble Magyar family. He studied law at Raab, which town he represented in the Diet of 1832. By his firmness and inflexibility of principle, conjoined to great amenity of manner and the faculty of yielding upon secondary points that did not involve essential principles, he became the chief instrument in reconciling the Hungarian kingdom with the Hapsburg dynasty. In 1848 he was Minister of Justice in the Ministry of Count Batthyany, but on the access to power of the more advanced party he retired into private life. In the same year he had been chosen to draw up an address applying for a Constitution, and, though the application proved unsuccessful, the Emperor sent for him to consult as to what Hungary really required. In 1861 he represented Pesth in the Diet. After the war of 1866 a demand was again made for a Constitution, and Deak's moderation in demanding only what had been asked for before caused it to be successful. He died at Buda-Pesth.