The Compromise of 1867, which created the Dual Monarchy, gave the Hungarian government more control of its domestic affairs than it had possessed at any time since the
Battle of Mohács (see fig. 4). However, the new government faced severe economic problems and the growing restiveness of ethnic minorities. The First World War led to the disintegration of Austria-Hungary, and in the aftermath of the war, a series of governments—including a communist regime—assumed power in Buda and Pest (in 1872 the cities of Buda and Pest united to become Budapest).
Constitutional and legal framework The Transleithanian lands were under the rule of the Austrian Emperor
Franz Joseph I as Apostolic
King of Hungary and King of Croatia and Slavonia. He was succeeded by his grand-nephew Emperor
Charles I (King Charles IV) in 1916. Once again a Habsburg emperor became king of Hungary, but the compromise strictly limited his power over the country's internal affairs, and the Hungarian government assumed control over its domestic affairs. The Hungarian government consisted of a prime minister and cabinet appointed by the emperor but responsible to the
Diet of Hungary, a bicameral parliament elected by a narrow franchise. The Diet was convened by
Minister-President Count
Gyula Andrássy on 18 February 1867, Joint Austro-Hungarian affairs were managed through "common" ministries of foreign affairs, defense, and finance. The respective ministers were responsible to delegations representing separate Austrian and Hungarian parliaments. Although the "common" ministry of defense administered the imperial and royal armies, the emperor acted as their commander in chief, and German remained the language of command in the military as a whole. The compromise designated that commercial and monetary policy, tariffs, the railroad, and indirect taxation were "common" concerns to be negotiated every ten years. The compromise also returned
Transylvania to Hungary's jurisdiction. At Franz Joseph's insistence, Hungary and Croatia reached
a similar compromise in 1868, the
Nagodba, giving Croatia a special status in the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown. In fact, this half of Austria-Hungary was officially defined (art. 1) as "a state union of the
Kingdom of Hungary and the
Triune Kingdom of
Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia". The agreement recognized Croatia's distinct identity and granted Croatia autonomy over its internal affairs, exercised by the
Sabor (assembly) of the former
Kingdom of Croatia. The Sabor gained partial authority to legislate in the areas of justice, education and religious matters, and interior affairs. In practice, however, this autonomy was fairly limited. The Croatian
Ban would now be nominated by the Hungarian prime minister and appointed by the king. Areas of common policies included finance, currency matters, commercial policy, the post office, and the railroads. Croatian became the official language of Croatia's government, and Croatian representatives discussing "common" affairs before the Hungarian diet were permitted to speak Croatian. Transleithania did not have its own flag. According to the
Nagodba (art. 62 and 63), in all joint Croatian and Hungarian affairs symbols of both Croatia and Hungary respectively had to be used. For instance, whenever the joint Hungarian-Croatian Parliament held a session, the
Croatian flag and
Hungarian flag were both hoisted on the parliament building in
Budapest. In Vienna, in front of
Schönbrunn Palace, a black and yellow flag was flown for
Cisleithania, but both Croatian and Hungarian flags were flown for Transleithania. Vienna responded quickly and included the
Croatian coat of arms. Since it was too late to reform the
Imperial and Royal monarchy, on 29 October 1918 the
Croatian Parliament (Sabor) in
Zagreb unified the Croatian lands and ended the union and all ties with Austria and Hungary (particularly Article 1 of the Nagodba of 1868) and decided to join the National Council of the
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (on 1 December 1918 it united with the
Kingdom of Serbia to form the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). The city of Fiume became the short-lived
Free State of Fiume until 1924, when it was ceded to
Italy. The territories of the southern Hungarian counties in
Banat,
Bácska and
Baranya (the west of
Temes County,
Torontál County,
Bács-Bodrog County and
Baranya County) as a
Province of Banat, Bačka and Baranja became part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In desperation, Charles appointed
Mihály Károlyi, who advocated looser ties between Austria and Hungary, as prime minister. Under Károlyi's prodding, the Hungarian parliament terminated the Austro-Hungarian Compromise as of 31 October 1918. On 13 November, Charles announced that he accepted Hungary's right to determine the form of the state, and relinquished his right to take part in Hungary's politics. He also released the officials in the Hungarian half of the monarchy from their oath of loyalty to him. Although it is sometimes reckoned as an abdication, Charles deliberately avoided using the term in the event the Hungarian people recalled him. However, Károlyi and his government were unwilling to wait; they proclaimed the
Hungarian Democratic Republic on 16 November. However, King Charles IV never abdicated, and from 1920 until 1944 the nominally restored
Kingdom of Hungary was governed by
Miklós Horthy as a
regent. ==See also==