Ratko Nadj Szalay

**Ratko Nadj Szalay** (born November 3rd, 1827, Pančevo, Hungarian Krajina) is the reigning king of Hungary.

## Early life

Ratko was born in 1827 in Pancsova, on the north side of the Danube across from Belgrade, into a Serbo-Hungarian branch of the Karađorđević noble family, which with his parents' (Duke Radovan Nadj Karadjordjevic and Angyalka Szalay) marriage was united with the powerful Hungarian Szalay merchant and diplomats clan. With this background he attended the best schools in the kingdom, after finishing he went into Hungarian military service and supported the Hungarian national movement in the revolution of 1848/49.

After five years of military service he became Minister of Diplomacy and Cultural Management for the Hungarian part of the Habsburg monarchy. In early 1854, he went to Lillafüred for a longer visit and met Magdolna Szombat, whom he married. She gave him his son Slavoljub Nadj. In 1859, she went off for a walk and never returned.

After almost 15 years of Hungarian state service, he followed his cousin Boris and emigrated to Russia. On August 19, 1869, he went back to Hungary and was crowned to king.

## King of Hungary

As one of the small amount of believers in a compatibility of Magyar and Slav interests, Ratko continued the policies he already had started as cultural minister. He successfully integrated the Croats into his nation after the purchase of Croatia in 1874. Also, he was always careful to keep the good relationships to Russia – apart from his cousin Boris, he also maintained contact to Alexander Kuropatkin and Inuyasha Hasekura – and the Byzantine Empire to guarantee safety and entry freedom for his people in Carpathian Ukraine and in Byzantine Serbia. As a wise and experienced diplomat, he hardly had any difficulties, despite there were several power changes in Byzantium within the period of his reign.

Ratko not only got most of his native lands in Europe back, but also inhabited and expanded the Hungarian colony in Africa. In 1880 his territory would be more than double as big as in 1870. Therefore it was important to him to have good relationships also to other European nations as well as Transvaal. Although he often was slow in reaction and high-handed, he never had any conflict or even war with other nations in the time of his reign. Therefore he could improve the economy of his country. He, unlike many other leaders at that time, relay most on the domestic economy and accumulation of reserves.

As he was power-hungry and did not have an exactly positive attitude towards the Habsburg monarchy, he turned Hungary into an absolute monarchy again. He removed every nobleman and politician – mostly of Austrian-Hungarian origin – whom he considered blocking his plans.

During his reign, Ratko had to deal with several severe crises. When Budapest and Paris got attacked, he passed the 1875 Homeland Security Act, which he, unlike most other countries with laws of this kind, never abolished. In 1877 and 1879 he had to deal with several attacks by socialists, in which he lost his residence in Sopron and his only son.

In the 1880 espionage scandal he was accused and publically denounced to have taken part in (or even planned himself) his son's assassination. The accusation contained also assumptions that he might be a proponent of socialism. This was officially denied.

## Family

**Boris Karadjordje** – cousin. Tsar of Russia. Born in 1819 in Belgrade. Died in 1879 in St. Petersburg.

**Duke Radovan Nadj Karadjordjevic** – father. Born in 1806. Died in 1844.

**Angyalka Szalay** – mother. From the Szalay merchant and diplomats clan. Born in 1809. Died in 1865.

**Magdolna Szombat** – former wife. Born in 1833 in Sopron, missed since 1859.

**Slavoljub Nadj** – son. Born in 1854 in Lillafüred. Died in 1879 in Sopron.