Deák, Ferencz

Born Oct. 17. 1803, in the village of Söj-tör, in the comitat of Zala; died Jan. 29, 1876, in Budapest. Hungarian statesman; one of the leaders of the parliamentary opposition (1833–47) that supported L. Kossuth. Minister of justice (1848) in the government of L. Batthyány.

In 1849, Deák retired from active political life. After the defeat of the Revolution of 1848–49, he became an advocate of the tactics of passive resistance to the Hapsburgs. In 1861 he became parliamentary leader of the so-called Party of Petition, which advocated the restoration of the revolutionary laws of 1848 by means of presentation of petitions to the Hapsburgs. In 1865 he founded and headed a political party that played a significant role in the preparation and conclusion of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.