Sándor Festetics

Count Sándor Ágost Dénes Festetics de Tolna (31 May 1882 – 12 September 1956) was a Hungarian nobleman and cabinet minister who later became an advocate of Nazism in Hungary.

Background Coming from one of Hungary's leading families (his father was Andor Festetics), Count Festetics was amongst those chosen to serve in the cabinet of Mihály Károlyi, being appointed Minister of Defence in 1918. Although this was to prove ill-fated, Festetics remained committed to parliamentary politics, becoming a supporter of István Bethlen.

Politics and embrace of Nazism After a spell away from politics, Festetics, who had become convinced of Nazism, took charge of the tiny Hungarian National Socialist Peoples Party in 1933, using the fortune he had inherited from his uncle Prince Tasziló to seek to expand the group. By 1934, he had come together with Zoltán Meskó and Fidél Pálffy to form an alliance of their movements. Before long, however, he was expelled as his commitment to anti-Semitism was seen to be weak; Festetics had continued to employ Jews on his estates.

Retirement from politics Festetics brought an end to his political career in 1939. He took no active part in politics during the Second World War, and died a private citizen at his home near Lake Balaton in 1956.