Bernády György, a „székely főváros” és a székelyek
György Bernády, the “Szeklers’ Capital” and the Szeklers

Summary/Abstract: György Bernády has become known to posterity as the founding Mayor of modern Marosvásárhely/Târgu Mureş, its Lord Lieutenant as well as a prominent politician during the interwar period. The aim of this article is to present the peculiar “Szekler” identity of the city’s political discourse during György Bernády’s politically active years. During his ten-year term as Mayor, between 1902 and 1912, the town discards its rural character, becoming a city on its way to modernization. Also, it is the period when the “Szekler question” becomes a highly disputed issue and starts to find a way through the daily political discourse. During WWI Bernády was also appointed State Secretary responsible for war refugees, and after 1919 he returned from Budapest to Transylvania, which became part of Romania, where he served as a leading figure of the Hungarian minority party. During this time the “Szekler question” and its various forms were used as defensive political communication strategy of that time.

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