Sándor Matlekovits Dr.
Sándor Matlekovits (1842-1925) was a commercial state secretary, politician and writer, full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He studied in the capital, and in the meantime had already distinguished himself with his numerous scientific works. He served as State Secretary until 1889, during which time he made a significant contribution to the development and promotion of Hungarian industry and trade. After resigning his position for political reasons, he served as a member of parliament on several occasions until 1902. After the turn of the century, he headed a number of associations and economic enterprises, including the Hungarian Electricity Joint Stock Company between 1893 and 1914/1915 and the First Hungarian Paper Factory Joint Stock Company between 1923 and 1925.
Sándor Matlekovits was born in 1842 in Pest into a landless, middle-class family, ennobled in 1628. Between 1809 and 1813, his grandfather was mayor of Arad, his father a police commissioner, later a lawyer and later a judge in the capital.
He completed his secondary education in the Budapest IV. district of the Kegyestanítórendi High School, then continued his higher education in the capital, where he studied law and graduated as a jurist, then as a public and exchange lawyer at the Royal Board. During his university studies, he won several prizes for his academic work: in 1864 he won a prize for his papers on law and national economy. In 1867 he wrote a book on national economics and finance. At the same time, he applied for the chair of economics at the University of Technology, but was unsuccessful.
As a result of his exclusion from scientific opportunities, he became increasingly involved in political life. In 1867, he was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Industry and Trade, and was the rapporteur for customs affairs. At the same time, he was appointed a private university lecturer. He wrote a number of publications during this period, two of which were honoured by the Academy (a paper on trade education in 1872 and a paper on railway differential rates in 1875). In 1870, he was appointed ministerial secretary. In 1873, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy and delivered his inaugural thesis in the same year. In the same year, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Lipót and the Medal of the Order of St Stephen, and later the title of Privy Councillor of the Interior. In 1875, after the death of the State Secretary, he was put in charge of the Customs Department, where he was responsible for customs and foreign trade policy for a decade and a half. Between 1876 and 1878 he served as a soldier in Vienna. In 1877 he travelled to Berlin for six weeks, as the free trade policy in the German Empire was being replaced by the protective tariff, and Chancellor Bismarck had also called Matlekovits to help him implement it.
In 1880, Prime Minister Kálmán Tisza gave him the position of Deputy State Secretary, but a real State Secretary, in order to keep him in national politics instead of the economic (bank manager) position he had been offered. As State Secretary, he also implemented a number of reforms in the Ministry of Economy and the country's economy. His work led to the creation of a separate Hungarian statistics on trade in goods and the introduction of the metric system. Animal health and fisheries were regulated. The port of Fiume was built and the Adriatic Shipping Company was established. It is in this context that he was president of the shipping association for decades. He was also involved in the drafting of the Mining Act and the law organising the agricultural administration. He also set up the Culture Agency and the institution of 'special soil improvement pledges'. It also helped to launch silkworm breeding and the large-scale production of silk in Hungary. It was at this time that industrial education became exemplary: the foundations of Hungarian industrial and commercial vocational education were laid by the Industrial Law of 1884, which laid down in Article XVII of the Act of 1884, putting apprenticeship training on a modern footing.
In 1889, Gábor Baross split the former ministry, where he had served as secretary of state. Count Gyula Szapáry was appointed head of the Ministry, which had existed as a separate trade ministry, to whom Matlekovits submitted his resignation in the same year. He served as a member of parliament for the Free Party on several occasions: from 1881 to 1889 and from 1894 to 1902.
After the turn of the century, he served as head of several economic and scientific organisations. He was also chairman and member of the board of directors of the National Economic Commission. He was one of the founders of the Economic Society. He also took on the presidency of the Hungarian-French Chamber of Commerce. He was also President of the National Council for Industrial and Commercial Education from 1895 to 1922. He was also president of the National Industrial Association and the Hungarian Economic Society. Between 1893 and 1914/1915, he was President of the Hungarian Electricity Joint Stock Company, and between 1923 and 1925, he was President of the First Hungarian Paper Factory Joint Stock Company. He was also chairman of the Kancer Lead and Tin Factory Joint Stock Company, the Hungarian Asphalt Joint Stock Company, the Hungarian Workshop and Warehouse Joint Stock Company, the Pallas Literary and Printing Joint Stock Company, the Láng L. gépgyár Részvénytársaság, Szolyva Magyar Falepárló Részvénytársaság, Bihari Szénbánya és Villamossága Részvénytársaság, Debreceni Erste Élesdi Mészégető Részvénytársaság, the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Hungarian-French Chamber of Commerce, the Hungarian-Austrian Economic Organisation, the National Hungarian Exhibition Centre, the National Industrial Association and the Hungarian Economic Society. He was a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1910, and a member of the Board of Directors from 1925. However, he did not enjoy this position for long, as he died on 30 November 1925. His funeral was held on 4 December 1925 in the Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest, where he was buried with great condolences. In 1935, on the anniversary of his death, he was commemorated by numerous press outlets as one of the most outstanding economic officials of the dualist era.
Sources:
Economic Review 1874-1935.
Ágnes Kenyeres (editor-in-chief): Hungarian Biographical Dictionary. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest, 1982. 166.
Hungarian Lexicon. Encyclopaedia of universal knowledge. Part 16. Vezére-Zsuzsok. Pallas Literary and Printing Company. Budapest, 1885. 489.
Press material 1864-1935.
Born: 12 October 1842.
Place of birth: Pest
Date of death: 30 November 1925.
Place of death: Budapest (Budapest capital)
Occupation: trade state secretary, economist, writer, politician, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences,
Parents:
Spouses: Róza Szuk (1868-?)
Children:
Author: Róbert Szabó
Born: 12 October 1842.
Place of birth: Pest
Date of death: 30 November 1925.
Place of death: Budapest (Budapest capital)
Occupation: trade state secretary, economist, writer, politician, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences,
Parents:
Spouses: Róza Szuk (1868-?)
Children:
Author: Róbert Szabó
Sándor Matlekovits Dr.
Sándor Matlekovits (1842-1925) was a commercial state secretary, politician and writer, full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He studied in the capital, and in the meantime had already distinguished himself with his numerous scientific works. He served as State Secretary until 1889, during which time he made a significant contribution to the development and promotion of Hungarian industry and trade. After resigning his position for political reasons, he served as a member of parliament on several occasions until 1902. After the turn of the century, he headed a number of associations and economic enterprises, including the Hungarian Electricity Joint Stock Company between 1893 and 1914/1915 and the First Hungarian Paper Factory Joint Stock Company between 1923 and 1925.
Sándor Matlekovits was born in 1842 in Pest into a landless, middle-class family, ennobled in 1628. Between 1809 and 1813, his grandfather was mayor of Arad, his father a police commissioner, later a lawyer and later a judge in the capital.
He completed his secondary education in the Budapest IV. district of the Kegyestanítórendi High School, then continued his higher education in the capital, where he studied law and graduated as a jurist, then as a public and exchange lawyer at the Royal Board. During his university studies, he won several prizes for his academic work: in 1864 he won a prize for his papers on law and national economy. In 1867 he wrote a book on national economics and finance. At the same time, he applied for the chair of economics at the University of Technology, but was unsuccessful.
As a result of his exclusion from scientific opportunities, he became increasingly involved in political life. In 1867, he was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Industry and Trade, and was the rapporteur for customs affairs. At the same time, he was appointed a private university lecturer. He wrote a number of publications during this period, two of which were honoured by the Academy (a paper on trade education in 1872 and a paper on railway differential rates in 1875). In 1870, he was appointed ministerial secretary. In 1873, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy and delivered his inaugural thesis in the same year. In the same year, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Lipót and the Medal of the Order of St Stephen, and later the title of Privy Councillor of the Interior. In 1875, after the death of the State Secretary, he was put in charge of the Customs Department, where he was responsible for customs and foreign trade policy for a decade and a half. Between 1876 and 1878 he served as a soldier in Vienna. In 1877 he travelled to Berlin for six weeks, as the free trade policy in the German Empire was being replaced by the protective tariff, and Chancellor Bismarck had also called Matlekovits to help him implement it.
In 1880, Prime Minister Kálmán Tisza gave him the position of Deputy State Secretary, but a real State Secretary, in order to keep him in national politics instead of the economic (bank manager) position he had been offered. As State Secretary, he also implemented a number of reforms in the Ministry of Economy and the country's economy. His work led to the creation of a separate Hungarian statistics on trade in goods and the introduction of the metric system. Animal health and fisheries were regulated. The port of Fiume was built and the Adriatic Shipping Company was established. It is in this context that he was president of the shipping association for decades. He was also involved in the drafting of the Mining Act and the law organising the agricultural administration. He also set up the Culture Agency and the institution of 'special soil improvement pledges'. It also helped to launch silkworm breeding and the large-scale production of silk in Hungary. It was at this time that industrial education became exemplary: the foundations of Hungarian industrial and commercial vocational education were laid by the Industrial Law of 1884, which laid down in Article XVII of the Act of 1884, putting apprenticeship training on a modern footing.
In 1889, Gábor Baross split the former ministry, where he had served as secretary of state. Count Gyula Szapáry was appointed head of the Ministry, which had existed as a separate trade ministry, to whom Matlekovits submitted his resignation in the same year. He served as a member of parliament for the Free Party on several occasions: from 1881 to 1889 and from 1894 to 1902.
After the turn of the century, he served as head of several economic and scientific organisations. He was also chairman and member of the board of directors of the National Economic Commission. He was one of the founders of the Economic Society. He also took on the presidency of the Hungarian-French Chamber of Commerce. He was also President of the National Council for Industrial and Commercial Education from 1895 to 1922. He was also president of the National Industrial Association and the Hungarian Economic Society. Between 1893 and 1914/1915, he was President of the Hungarian Electricity Joint Stock Company, and between 1923 and 1925, he was President of the First Hungarian Paper Factory Joint Stock Company. He was also chairman of the Kancer Lead and Tin Factory Joint Stock Company, the Hungarian Asphalt Joint Stock Company, the Hungarian Workshop and Warehouse Joint Stock Company, the Pallas Literary and Printing Joint Stock Company, the Láng L. gépgyár Részvénytársaság, Szolyva Magyar Falepárló Részvénytársaság, Bihari Szénbánya és Villamossága Részvénytársaság, Debreceni Erste Élesdi Mészégető Részvénytársaság, the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Hungarian-French Chamber of Commerce, the Hungarian-Austrian Economic Organisation, the National Hungarian Exhibition Centre, the National Industrial Association and the Hungarian Economic Society. He was a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1910, and a member of the Board of Directors from 1925. However, he did not enjoy this position for long, as he died on 30 November 1925. His funeral was held on 4 December 1925 in the Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest, where he was buried with great condolences. In 1935, on the anniversary of his death, he was commemorated by numerous press outlets as one of the most outstanding economic officials of the dualist era.
Sources:
Economic Review 1874-1935.
Ágnes Kenyeres (editor-in-chief): Hungarian Biographical Dictionary. Akadémiai Kiadó. Budapest, 1982. 166.
Hungarian Lexicon. Encyclopaedia of universal knowledge. Part 16. Vezére-Zsuzsok. Pallas Literary and Printing Company. Budapest, 1885. 489.
Press material 1864-1935.