Andrea Ossoinack

Who was Andrea Ossoinack?

Andrea Ossoinack was a businessman and politician who became notable in the process of creating the Free State of Fiume.

Andrea was the son of Luigi Ossoinack, who was one of the foremost businessmen in Fiume. Ossoinack studied economics in England, and then spent some time at this father's company branch office in London.

After initially helping Riccardo Zanella and his Autonomist Association, Ossoinack later founded the Autonomist League with the Hungarian loyalist grouping.

In 1916 he was nominated deputy from Fiume at the Hungarian Parliament. At the end of the I World War Andrea Ossoinack, on October the 18th 1918, at the Hungarian parliament, claimed for his city the right of self-determination. In this capacity he was also allowed to represent Fiume at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919, on the 3rd March 1919 Andrea Ossoinack was appointed “Representative of Fiume“ at the Paris Peace Conference, being presented as the “last deputy of Fiume at the Hungarian Parliament”.

Ossoinack was the ideal choice to represent Fiume. He was the foremost local entrepreneur with excellent business and political contacts with all the lands with which Fiume was connected. Deeply rooted in local political life he financed all the political organisation of Fiume including the autonomists of Maylender and Zanella. Moreover, Ossoinack spoke several languages and, having studied economics in London, was fluent in English. Moreover, he had the knowledge and information of the economy of Fiume and a clear vision of the future prospects.