Teodor Pejačević

Count Teodor Pejačević of Virovitica (24 September 1855 – 22 July 1928) was a Croatian politician, member of Pejačević family, who served as Ban of Croatia-Slavonia between 1903 and 1907.

Teodor Pejačević
Vlaho Bukovac, Portrait of ban Teodor Pejačević, 1903, Gallery of Fine Arts, Osijek
Ban of Croatia-Slavonia
In office 1 July 1903 – 26 June 1907
Preceded by	Károly Khuen-Héderváry
Succeeded by	Aleksandar Rakodczay
Minister of Croatian Affairs of Hungary
In office 21 July 1913 – 16 January 1916
Preceded by	István Tisza
Succeeded by	István Tisza
Personal details
Born	24 September 1855 Našice, Kingdom of Slavonia, Austrian Empire
Died	22 July 1928 (aged 72) Vienna, Austria
Nationality	Croatian
Political party	Unionist Party
Other political affiliations	Croat-Serb Coalition
Spouse(s)	Elizabeta Vay de Vaya
Profession	Politician, lawyer

He was born in Našice as the eldest son of Ladislav Pejačević, a Ban of Croatia (1880–1883). His mother was the Hungarian baroness Gabrijela /Gabrielle/ Döry de Jobaháza.

He served as a long-term župan of Virovitica County.

At the beginning of the 20th century, he was faced with a new direction of Croatian policy marked by political alliance between Croats and Serbs in Austria-Hungary for mutual benefit. A Croat-Serb Coalition was formed in 1905 and it governed the Croatian lands from 1906 until the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy in 1918. As Pejačević supported the ruling Coalition in its resistance towards the Hungarian quest in 1907 to introduce the Hungarian language to be the official language on railways in Croatia, he was forced to resign.

He also took part as the Minister for Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia in the Hungarian Government from 1913 to 1916. However, during World War I he was interned in France on 22 August 1914. After that he was substituted by the Prime Minister István Tisza.

Pejačević died in Vienna. Among his children, the best known is his daughter Dora, a Croatian composer.

In Croatian film Countess Dora (1993) he is played by Tonko Lonza.

References

• Neda Engelsfeld: "Povijest hrvatske države i prava: razdoblje od 18. do 20. stoljeća", Pravni fakultet, Zagreb, 2002. ISBN 953-6714-41-8
• Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon