Ottokar Trnka

Ottokar Trnka , Czech Otakar Trnka (born July 19, 1871 in Pardubice , Kingdom of Bohemia ; † June 25, 1919 in Vienna , 1916 to 1919 Baron Trnka von Laberon ) was a Czech - Austrian civil servant responsible for railways and Austrian minister for public affairs Works from November 3, 1911 to June 23, 1917.

Ottokar Trnka

Life

Trnka came from a humble background. After attending a secondary school, he completed, in addition to gainful employment, a degree in civil engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague , which he completed with a doctorate. In 1894 he went to the Imperial and Royal State Railways and had been in the technical department of the Imperial and Royal Railway Ministry from 1900 . Trnka advised the ministers Ludwig Wrba and Julius Derschatta on technical matters and moved to the presidential office from 1905 to 1909. He then acted as director of the state railways. In 1911 he briefly moved back to the Ministry of Railways as head of the operations section before Karl Stürgkh proposed him to his government as Minister for Public Works in November.

Not only his professional qualifications, but also political reasons, his moderate stance as a representative of the Czechs, were reasons for his appointment. As a minister, Trnka promoted the development of oil deposits in South Moravia and Galicia and initiated initiatives to expand the vocational school system. During the First World War he was responsible for numerous measures such as the seizure of oil production or the introduction of tenant protection . He served as Minister of Labor in several cabinets until the Clam-Martinic Ministry resigned in June 1917.

Trnka von Laberon coat of arms, awarded on the occasion of the elevation to the baron class in 1916.

In 1908 Trnka was appointed a Knight of the Franz Joseph Order , in 1909 a Councilor and in 1912 a Privy Councilor . In 1913 he was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown, 1st class. In 1917 he was awarded the Leopold Order, First Class, and became a member of the manor house . On August 14, 1916, he was raised to the status of Austrian baron by Emperor Franz Joseph , received the title "von Laberon" and a coat of arms.

In 1918 he was still active as an inspector of the war service companies subordinate to the War Ministry . In 1919 he went to Czechoslovakia . In June 1919, when Trnka was back in Vienna to negotiate about Danube shipping, he was run over by a postal electric vehicle while leaving the Hotel Bristol on Vienna's Ringstrasse and died.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} J. Pircher:  Trnka von Laberon, Ottokar (Otakar) Frh .. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 14, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2012–, ISBN 978-3-7001-7312-0 , p. 466 f. (Direct links on p. 466 , p. 467 ).
2. ↑ Alois Czedik of Bruendl mountain and Eysenberg : The History of the Imperial Austrian ministries, 1861-1916. Based on the memories of Alois von Czedik. Volume 4: Period 1908-1916. K. Prochaska, Teschen / Vienna 1920, p. 517f.
3. ^ Arno Kerschbaumer: Nobilitations under the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I./I. Ferenc József király (1914-1916). Self-published, Graz 2016, ISBN 978-3-9504153-1-5 , pp. 64, 276, 278.
4. ↑ Alois Czedik of Bruendl mountain and Eysenberg: The History of the Imperial Austrian ministries, 1861-1916. Based on the memories of Alois von Czedik. Volume 4: Period 1908-1916. K. Prochaska, Teschen / Wien 1920, p. 521.
   Article  in:  Neue Freie Presse , June 26, 1919, p. 9 (online at ANNO ).

Web links

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