He studied in Sopron, Szombathely and Budapest. He obtained his doctorate in law in 1866. District administrator, Member of Parliament, he was the 6th Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Hungary (1875-1878) and then the 12th Prime Minister (1899-1903). From 1878 he developed his farm in Rátót into a model farm. His Simmenthal cattle stock was world famous.