Hungarian People's Republic
Hungary, 1949–1989. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Hungarian People's Republic was the Hungarian state from 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed communist state, governed first by the Hungarian Working People's Party and after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. Political repression and economic decline led to a nationwide popular uprising in October–November 1956 known as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which was the largest single act of dissent in the history of the Eastern Bloc. After initially allowing the Revolution to run its course, the Soviet Union sent thousands of troops and tanks to crush the opposition and install a new Soviet-controlled government under Kádár, killing thousands of Hungarians and driving hundreds of thousands into exile.
Seat of power: Budapest
Rulers
Árpád Szakasits
President of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic, 1949–1950
Árpád Szakasits was a Hungarian Social Democrat, then Communist politician. After the adoption of a new Soviet-style Constitution in 1949, the presidency was replaced with a Presidential Council, and Szakasits became its chairman on 23 August 1949, serving until 26 April 1950. In 1950, as acting chairman, he was arrested on trumped-up charges of war crimes, espionage, and conspiracy to overthrow the democratic order, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Portrait of Árpád Szakasits: Rádió és Televízió Újság (RTV) (cropped by Norden1990), CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sándor Rónai
President of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic, 1950–1952
Sándor Rónai was a Hungarian communist political figure. He served as Chairman of the Hungarian Presidential Council between 1950 and 1952 and as Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary from 1952 to 1963.
Portrait of Sándor Rónai: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
István Dobi
President of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic, 1952–1967
István Dobi was a Hungarian communist politician who was Prime Minister of Hungary from 1948 to 1952 and Chairman of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic from 1952 to 1967. By the end of World War II he had become a leading member of the Smallholders Party, which achieved a majority in the 1945 general elections. Dobi was a member of the left-wing faction of that party, and advocated cooperation with the communists.
Portrait of István Dobi: Rádió és Televízió Újság (RTV) (cropped by Norden1990), CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Pál Losonczi
President of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic, 1967–1987
Pál Losonczi was a Hungarian communist political figure. He was Chairman of the Hungarian Presidential Council from 1967 to 1987.
Portrait of Pál Losonczi: FOTO:Fortepan — ID 87975: Adományozó/Donor: Urbán Tamás., CC BY-SA 3.0, file
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Károly Németh
President of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic, 1987–1988
Károly Németh was a Hungarian political figure born in Páka. He served as the chairman of the Hungarian Presidential Council from 25 June 1987 to 29 June 1988. He was made Deputy General Secretary of the HSWP Central Committee under János Kádár, as a supporter of the liberalization of the political course.
Portrait of Károly Németh: Tibor Kádas (cropped by Norden1990), CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Brunó Ferenc Straub
President of the Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic, 1988–1989
Brunó Ferenc Straub was a biochemist. He was the chairman of the Hungarian Presidential Council from 29 June 1988 to 23 October 1989.
Portrait of Brunó Ferenc Straub: University of Szeged, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
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Culture
- By the early 1960s, however, the Kádár government had considerably relaxed its line, implementing a unique form of semi-liberal Communism known as "Goulash Communism". The state allowed imports of certain Western consumer and cultural products, gave Hungarians greater freedom to travel abroad, and significantly rolled back the secret police state.
- The Soviet Union pressed and maneuvered Hungarian politics through the Hungarian Communist Party, intervening whenever it needed to, through military coercion and covert operations.
- Thousands were killed or wounded in the revolution, and nearly a quarter of a million Hungarians fled the country.
Picture
The uprising lasted 15 days before being crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on 7 November 1956.
Image: Главцентроархив, CC0, file
Sources
- Hungarian People's Republic (Wikipedia)
- Hungarian People's Republic (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.