Milan Hodža
Encyclopedia
Milan Hodža was a prominent Slovak
politician and journalist, serving from 1935 to 1938 as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia and in December 1935 as the acting President of Czechoslovakia. As a proponent of regional integration, he was famous for his attempts to establish a democratic federation of Central European states.
His son was Fedor Hodža
(a politician) and he was the nephew of Michal Miloslav Hodža
(a politician and poet).
Milan Hodža was born in the Lutheran parish of Sučany
. He studied at gymnasium
s (high-schools) in Banská Bystrica
(1888-1890), Sopron
(1890-1894) and in Sibiu
(present-day Romania
), where he passed in 1896 graduation exams and at universities in Budapest
and Vienna
. He started his career of a journalist in Budapest, in 1897. He edited and founded the newspaper Slovenský denník (1900–1901) and the weekly Slovenský týždenník (1903–1914). From 1916 to 1918, he was editor of the Austrian press office in Vienna.
As a member of the Slovak National Party - at that time the only Slovak party in Austria-Hungary
- he became the ideological leader and founder of Slovak agrarianism
. Since the Slovak National Party did not endorse his agrarian program, he decided to create his own political party, but World War I
prevented him from this. Later, he also became an important representative of the Czechoslovak and international agrarian movement between the two world wars: He founded and was a member of the presidium of the International Agrarian Bureau
- an institution of European agrarian parties.
Milan Hodža was a close aide of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
, the successor to the Austrian and Hungarian thrones, since the 1910 elections. He proposed to him a very precise plan of turning the Kingdom of Hungary
into a federative monarchy
(including a separate Slovak state). The Archduke hoped that federalization would strengthen the ties between the oppressed
non-Magyar nations and the monarchy, but his initiative was strongly opposed by the Hungarian political elite.
During World War I, Milan Hodža was involved in the preparations of the creation of Czecho-Slovakia. He was a member of the 1918-1919 Slovak National Council
and was a signatory of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation, by which the Slovaks officially joined the newly created state of Czechoslovakia in 1918.
in Slovakia and as such gained considerable influence over Czechoslovakia's policy in all spheres – he influenced the process of land reform, the passing of bills on agrarian tolls, enforced syndicalization, administrative reforms, and the structure and policy of the government. In 1936-1937 he attempted to launch a project of bringing together Czechoslovakia, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia based on preferential duties - a step towards the unprecedented economic integration of the region. Instead, Hodža's government had to accept the Munich Agreement
in 1938 and he was forced to resign under pressure.
Since 1921, Milan Hodža was also professor of modern history at the Comenius University in Bratislava
. In the interwar period, he helped found many Slovak newspapers and magazines and had a strong political and ideological influence on them. His political papers were published in the book Články, reči, štúdie 1-6 (1930–1934; Articles, Speeches, Studies).
In the 1920s, he was a Czechoslovakist (considered the Czechs and Slovaks to form one nation), which enabled him to reach high posts in Prague. Nevertheless he had frequent conflicts with Czech politicians, because he was trying to take into account the specific needs of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia, which was unusual at that time. Moreover, he planned the creation of a block of anti-Centrist (i.e. anti-Prague) Slovak parties. He somewhat changed his views later - in 1938 he acknowledged the full sovereignty of the Slovaks as a separate nation and in the summer of that year (i.e. before Slovakia's autonomy was proclaimed in the autumn) he included in the programme of his government his personal project of changes in the structure of centralist Czechoslovakia - it was a combination of federal, autonomist and self-administrative ideas.
in late 1938, he lived in exile in Switzerland, France (1939), Great Britain (1940) and since 1941 in the US. During World War II
, he was the co-author of a memorandum on the situation of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia (October 1939), in which he re-iterated his project of 1938. In November 1939, he established the 1939 Slovak National Council
in Paris as the supreme body of Slovak resistance. The Slovak National Council merged with the Czech National Council to form the Czecho-Slovak National Council in January 1940. This organization (including its Czech members) competed with the government-in-exile
led by Edvard Beneš
(a strong Czechoslovakist) in London. Both exile groups were in permanent conflict. When Paris was conquered by the Germans, the British security forces took the members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council into custody which was an accomplishment of spies working for the Beneš group. Hodža capitulated and he accepted a second-rate post in Beneš's State Council in November 1940. He did not participate in the activities of the State Council however, and fled to the US in 1941. In the US, he developed a project for a Central European Federation (published as the book Federation in Central Europe, 1942). Although his plan received attention from American intellectuals and the Department of State
officials, his plan could not materialize due to the beginning of the Cold War
.
Milan Hodža held high Czechoslovak, French, Romanian, Yugoslavian and Polish awards. On 27 June 2002 the remains of Milan Hodža were reburied in the National Cemetery
in Martin
, in his native Slovakia.
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
politician and journalist, serving from 1935 to 1938 as the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia and in December 1935 as the acting President of Czechoslovakia. As a proponent of regional integration, he was famous for his attempts to establish a democratic federation of Central European states.
His son was Fedor Hodža
Fedor Hodža
Fedor Hodža was a Slovak politician and lawyer, the son of Milan Hodža.He was a graduate of the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in Prague...
(a politician) and he was the nephew of Michal Miloslav Hodža
Michal Miloslav Hodža
Michal Miloslav Hodža was a Slovak national revivalist, Protestant priest, poet, linguist, and representative of the Slovakian national movement in 1840's as a member of "the trinity" Štúr - Hurban - Hodža...
(a politician and poet).
Major positions held
- deputy to the parliament of the Kingdom of HungaryKingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
(1905–1910) - vice-chairman of the Slovak National PartySlovak National Party (historical party)The Slovak National Party was a Slovak conservative and nationalist political party in the Kingdom of Hungary and then in Czechoslovakia from 1871 to 1938...
(1906-1914?) - representative of the Czechoslovak government in Hungary (1918–1919)
- state secretary of the Ministry of Interior (1919)
- deputy to the parliament of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)
- leading member of the Czechoslovak Agrarian Party in Slovakia (1918–1938)
- Minister for the Unification of Laws and the Organisation of Administration (1919–1920 and 1926–1929)
- Minister of Agriculture (1922–1926 and 1932–1935)
- Minister of Education (1926–1929)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs (1935–1936)
- Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (1935–1938)
- chairman of the Slovak National CouncilSlovak National CouncilThe Slovak National Council is the name of different types of supreme bodies in the history of Slovakia. They existed within the Kingdom of Hungary, Czechoslovakia or the Slovak Republic or were bodies of Slovak exiles:...
in Paris (1939–1940)
Before 1918
Sucany
Sučany is a village and municipality in Martin District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. It is located around 5 km northeast of Martin, in the Váh river valley.-Geography:...
. He studied at gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
s (high-schools) in Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
(1888-1890), Sopron
Sopron
In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...
(1890-1894) and in Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...
(present-day Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
), where he passed in 1896 graduation exams and at universities in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He started his career of a journalist in Budapest, in 1897. He edited and founded the newspaper Slovenský denník (1900–1901) and the weekly Slovenský týždenník (1903–1914). From 1916 to 1918, he was editor of the Austrian press office in Vienna.
As a member of the Slovak National Party - at that time the only Slovak party in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
- he became the ideological leader and founder of Slovak agrarianism
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
. Since the Slovak National Party did not endorse his agrarian program, he decided to create his own political party, but World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
prevented him from this. Later, he also became an important representative of the Czechoslovak and international agrarian movement between the two world wars: He founded and was a member of the presidium of the International Agrarian Bureau
International Agrarian Bureau
The International Agrarian Bureau was founded in 1921 by the Agrarian parties of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Croatia, and Poland growing to 17 political parties in Eastern Europe by 1928. It was sometimes referred to as the "first Green International". The Bureau was a key competitor with the Red...
- an institution of European agrarian parties.
Milan Hodža was a close aide of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
, the successor to the Austrian and Hungarian thrones, since the 1910 elections. He proposed to him a very precise plan of turning the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
into a federative monarchy
United States of Greater Austria
The United States of Greater Austria was an idea created by a group of scholars surrounding the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand that never came to pass...
(including a separate Slovak state). The Archduke hoped that federalization would strengthen the ties between the oppressed
Magyarization
Magyarization is a kind of assimilation or acculturation, a process by which non-Magyar elements came to adopt Magyar culture and language due to social pressure .Defiance or appeals to the Nationalities Law, met...
non-Magyar nations and the monarchy, but his initiative was strongly opposed by the Hungarian political elite.
During World War I, Milan Hodža was involved in the preparations of the creation of Czecho-Slovakia. He was a member of the 1918-1919 Slovak National Council
Slovak National Council
The Slovak National Council is the name of different types of supreme bodies in the history of Slovakia. They existed within the Kingdom of Hungary, Czechoslovakia or the Slovak Republic or were bodies of Slovak exiles:...
and was a signatory of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation, by which the Slovaks officially joined the newly created state of Czechoslovakia in 1918.
1918 - 1938
After World War I, he became the leader of the Czechoslovak Agrarian PartyAgrarian Party of Czechoslovakia
The Republican Party of Agricultural and Smallholder People was an agrarian party of Czechoslovakia, seen as representing big business and agriculture.-Names of the Party:...
in Slovakia and as such gained considerable influence over Czechoslovakia's policy in all spheres – he influenced the process of land reform, the passing of bills on agrarian tolls, enforced syndicalization, administrative reforms, and the structure and policy of the government. In 1936-1937 he attempted to launch a project of bringing together Czechoslovakia, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia based on preferential duties - a step towards the unprecedented economic integration of the region. Instead, Hodža's government had to accept the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
in 1938 and he was forced to resign under pressure.
Since 1921, Milan Hodža was also professor of modern history at the Comenius University in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
. In the interwar period, he helped found many Slovak newspapers and magazines and had a strong political and ideological influence on them. His political papers were published in the book Články, reči, štúdie 1-6 (1930–1934; Articles, Speeches, Studies).
In the 1920s, he was a Czechoslovakist (considered the Czechs and Slovaks to form one nation), which enabled him to reach high posts in Prague. Nevertheless he had frequent conflicts with Czech politicians, because he was trying to take into account the specific needs of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia, which was unusual at that time. Moreover, he planned the creation of a block of anti-Centrist (i.e. anti-Prague) Slovak parties. He somewhat changed his views later - in 1938 he acknowledged the full sovereignty of the Slovaks as a separate nation and in the summer of that year (i.e. before Slovakia's autonomy was proclaimed in the autumn) he included in the programme of his government his personal project of changes in the structure of centralist Czechoslovakia - it was a combination of federal, autonomist and self-administrative ideas.
1938 - 1944
After the Munich AgreementMunich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
in late 1938, he lived in exile in Switzerland, France (1939), Great Britain (1940) and since 1941 in the US. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was the co-author of a memorandum on the situation of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia (October 1939), in which he re-iterated his project of 1938. In November 1939, he established the 1939 Slovak National Council
Slovak National Council
The Slovak National Council is the name of different types of supreme bodies in the history of Slovakia. They existed within the Kingdom of Hungary, Czechoslovakia or the Slovak Republic or were bodies of Slovak exiles:...
in Paris as the supreme body of Slovak resistance. The Slovak National Council merged with the Czech National Council to form the Czecho-Slovak National Council in January 1940. This organization (including its Czech members) competed with the government-in-exile
Czechoslovak government-in-exile
The Czechoslovak government-in-exile was an informal title conferred upon the Czechoslovak National Liberation Committee, initially by British diplomatic recognition. The name came to be used by other World War II Allies as they subsequently recognized it...
led by Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia. He was known to be a skilled diplomat.- Youth :...
(a strong Czechoslovakist) in London. Both exile groups were in permanent conflict. When Paris was conquered by the Germans, the British security forces took the members of the Czecho-Slovak National Council into custody which was an accomplishment of spies working for the Beneš group. Hodža capitulated and he accepted a second-rate post in Beneš's State Council in November 1940. He did not participate in the activities of the State Council however, and fled to the US in 1941. In the US, he developed a project for a Central European Federation (published as the book Federation in Central Europe, 1942). Although his plan received attention from American intellectuals and the Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
officials, his plan could not materialize due to the beginning of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Milan Hodža held high Czechoslovak, French, Romanian, Yugoslavian and Polish awards. On 27 June 2002 the remains of Milan Hodža were reburied in the National Cemetery
National Cemetery in Martin
The National Cemetery in Martin, Slovakia is the final resting place of many important personalities of Slovak history. The list includes writers, poets, national activists, pedagogues, etc....
in Martin
Martin, Slovakia
Martin is a city in northern Slovakia, situated on the Turiec river, between the Malá Fatra and Veľká Fatra mountains, near the city of Žilina. The population numbers approximately 58,000, which makes it the eighth largest city in Slovakia...
, in his native Slovakia.