18th of June – The birthday of Miklós Horthy

Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June, 1868, Kenderes – 9 February, 1957, Estoril, Portugal) was the naval officer of the Austrian-Hungarian Navy, the adjutant of Franz Joseph between 1909 and 1914, and the last lieutenant-general of the fleet as a rear admiral. The king promoted him to vice-admiral after the world war. He consolidated state power after the fall of the proletarian dictatorship following WWI. He was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1920 and 1944. He died in his emigration in Portugal and was re-buried in 1993 in Kenderes.

Turul.info writes that Miklós Horthy was born as the fifth child (out of nine) of a mid-landowner family. His father lived an active public life; he was a Calvinist diocesan guardian and the member of the upper house. His mother led the household and took part in the managing of the farm. The parents paid a lot of attention to the upbringing and education of their children.

Miklós chose the military career following his brothers and the wish of his father. He applied to the Imperial and Royal Nautical Academy of Fiume in 1882. Being an excellent sportsman, he gained great prestige. His outstanding sport achievements (in sailing, running, fencing, cycling, tennis and horse riding), talent for dancing, appealing manners and knowledge of foreign languages made him a warmly welcomed man in companies.

Emperor and King Franz Joseph promoted Miklós Horthy lieutenant-commander to be his adjutant in 1909. He learned a lot by the side of the emperor, which he profited from later as a regent. After the outbreak of WWI he applied for war service, which he was assigned to.

After WWI he returned to his land in Kenderes and lived through the chaotic conditions of the country there. He obeyed the calling word of the nation and arrived in Szeged on the 6^th of June, 1919 and organised the National Army, with which he marched into Budapest on the 16^th of November, 1919. The capital city welcomed him with utter enthusiasm.

The National Assembly elected Vice-Admiral Miklós Horthy as the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary on the 1^st of March, 1920. He took on the lead and the moral, economic, politic, military recovery of a country that lost a war, and lived through red terror, white terror and the Czech-Romanian intervention. During the time of the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary was at the verge of economic fall. With hard work he managed to restore the prestige of Hungary and successfully consolidated the country. He gave back the national self-esteem of Hungarians and never gave up on reuniting the Hungarian nation.