Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár (; ; 10 February 1807 – 6 October 1849) was the first Prime Minister of Hungary. He was born in Pozsony (modern-day Bratislava) on 10 February 1807, and was executed by firing squad in Pest on 6 October 1849, the same day as the 13 Martyrs of Arad. Career His father was Count József Sándor Batthyány von Német-Újvár (1777–1812), his mother Borbála Skerlecz de Lomnicza (1779-1834). He had an elder sister, Countess Amalia (who married, and divorced, Count Franz Oliver von Jenison-Walworth, and later then Count von Westerholt-Gysenberg. At an early age, he moved to Vienna with his mother and his brother after his parents' divorce. Batthyány had a private tutor, but his mother sent him to a boarding school and Batthyány rarely saw his mother again. Early years At the age of 16 Batthyány finished his studies at boarding school and attended the Academy in Zagreb (now University of Zagreb, Croatia). In 1826 he took a tour of duty in Italy for four years, where he was promoted to lieutenant and got his law degree. In 1830 he became a hereditary peer in the Upper House in Hungary and took his seat in the Parliament, but at this time Battyhány was not a politician by nature. In December 1834 he married Countess Antónia Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő (daughter of Count Károly Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő and Countess Antónia Batthyány von Német-Újvár). Their children were: Countess Amália Batthyány von Német-Újvár (1837–1922), Ilona Keglevich von Buzin (1842–1929) and Count Elemér Batthyány (1847–1932). Batthyány's friend said that Antónia (his wife) encouraged him to take on larger responsibilities in politics. Batthyány, the Reform politician Batthyány became more involved after the 1839–1840 diet in Pozsony and was the Leader of the Opposition. He drew up a reform plan for them. Batthyány advised employing stenographers to record verbatim the proceedings of the Upper House starting in 1840. Batthyány agreed with István Széchenyi's views on economics and politics. At the beginning of the 1830s Batthyány was one of the people who promoted horse breeding in Hungary. Later they expanded into other animal breeding and established the Association of Hungarian Economy. Batthyány, following Széchenyi, supported breeding silkworms: he planted more than 50,000 mulberry trees on his farm to cultivate them. The Vas shire county and the Economics Association of Szombathely were founded with Batthyány's help. At the start he agreed