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BOX-FOLDER-REPORT: 28-5-87
TITLE:             More on the New Hungarian Government
BY:                
DATE:              1956-10-27
COUNTRY:           Hungary
ORIGINAL SUBJECT:  From the Evaluation and Research Section
THEMATIC SUBJECTS: Hungary--1956 Revolution, Government, Personalities

--- Begin ---

FROM THE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH SECTION	BACKGROUND REPORT
(Hungary)	27 October 1956

MORE ON THE NEW HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT (fourth and final
release)

Minister of Domestic Trade:	Janos TAUS.	He was deputy minister in the
same ministry in 1951,
subsequently he became deputy
minister of home and foreign
trade. After that ministry was
split up in July 1954 he was
appointed first deputy minister
of domestic trade and in April
1956 upped to the rank of
Minister in the same ministry.

Minister of Chemical Industry:	Gergely SZABO.	Was in the same position in
1952. In January 1955 became
chief of the sectretarial office
of the Council of Ministers.
Since July 30, 1956, again
Minister of Chemical Industry.

Minister of Light Industry:	Mrs. Jozsef NAGY.	A former textile worker,
became manager of the BUDAPEST
"Hungarian Cotton Mill." In
January 1951, deputy Minister
of Light Industry. In 1952
became deputy chairman of the
National Planning Office. In
September 1955 was appointed
Minister of Light Industry.

Minister of Communal Economy:	Ferenc NEZVAL.	A leather worker, former
deputy president of the BUDAPEST
town councils executive
committee. First deputy minister in
the same ministry from June
1954.

Minister of State Farms (Sovkhozes):	Miklos RIBIANSZKY.	Has been holding leading
offices in the Ministry of
Agriculture since 1952. In 1953

[page 2]

he won the Kossuth Prize and
10,000 forint cash prize. Was
appointed deputy minister in
the same ministry January 1955.

Minister of Food Industry:	Rezso NYERS.	Born 1923. Printer. Former
social democrat; after the
fusion (June 1948) became org.
secretary of the MDP's PEST
County Party committee. In
1954 was nominated deputy
president of National Council of
Trading Co-operatives (SZOVOSZ.)
Has been Minister of Food
Industry since July 30, 1956.

Minister of Produce Collection:	Antal GYENES.	Journalist, he wrote articles
in Szabad Nép about
agricultural problems. "Tarsadalmi
Szemle" in September 1956
published an essay of his
titled: "The role of simpler forms
of co-operation in our kolkhoz
movement."

Minister of Communications and Post:	Lajos BEBRITS.	Bora 1891. Former railroad
employee. Worked as a
Communist journalist and member
of the American Communist Party
in the U.S.A. Was deported in
1932, went to the Soviet Union,
and after his return to Hungary
in 1945 became secretary of
state in the Ministry of
Communications, being the right
hand of Ernö GERO, then head
of the ministry. Was
appointed Minister of Communications
in July 1951 and subsequently
in July 1953 Minister of
Communications and Post.

[page 3]

Minister of People's Culture:	Gyorgy LUKACS.	Aged 71. He was Minister of
Education in Béla KUN's 1919
regime. During the thirties
he emigrated to the Soviet
Union, whence he returned after
the war (1945.) He is the most
outstanding Marxist-Leninist
philosopher of the regime and
one of the leaders of the
"thaw" in Hungary. He
criticized bitterly the degeneration of
Marxism-Leninism by Stalinists.

Minister of Education:	Albert KONYA.	Born 1917, teacher of
mathematics and physics. Nuclear
physicist. From 1952 until
autumn 1954 deputy minister of
education, then until July 30
1956, deputy chief of the CC's
scientific and cultural
section and subsequently Minister
of Education.

Chairman of the National Planning Office:	Arpad KISS.	Was Minister of Light Industry
from 1951 to October 1954, when
he became Minister of Chemical
Industry and Power. Dismissed
from this Ministry, was
appointed President of National Council
of Technical Development. In
1954 won the silver degree of
the Kossuth Prize with a 20,000
forint cash prize. In January
1956 became deputy chairman
of the national atomic energy
committee.

[page 4]

PARTY STATUS OF NEW CABINET MEMBERS

Follows a list of members of the new Hungarian cabinet,
in the order names were announced by Radio BUDAPEST on October 27.
Also given are their party affiliation and any official positions
held in the party.

Note: HWP is the abbreviation for Hungarian Working
People's (Communist) Party.

Name	Party	Position
NAGY Imre	HWP (CP)	Central Committee and
		Politbureau member,
APRO	HWP (CP)	Central Committee and
		Politbureau member,
BOGNAR	Smallholder	secretary general,
ERDEI	National Peasant general secretary,
		Party
TILDY	Smallholder
HORVATH Imre	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
JANZA	HWP (CP)
MUNNICH	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
KOVACS Bela	Smallholder
KOSSA	HWP (CP)	Central Committee alternate
		member,
MOLNAR	HWP (CP)	Central Committee alternate
		member,
CSERGO	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
BABITS	Undocumented, but almost certainly HWP (CP)
CZOTTNER	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
TAUSZ	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
SZABO Gergely	HWP (CP)	Central Committee alternate
		member,
NAGY Mrs.	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
NEZVAL	HWP (CP)	Central Committee alternate
		member,
RIBIANSZKY	Undocumented, but almost certainly HWP (CP)
NYERS	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
GYENES	HWP (CP)
BEBRITS	HWP (CP)	Central Committee alternate
		member,
LUKACS	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member,
KONYA	HWP (CP)	Central Committee alternate
		member,
KISS Arpad	HWP (CP)	Central Committee member

[page 5]

HUNGARIAN EVALUATION COMMENT

Of the 25 members of the new cabinet, only eight are
newcomers. 19 are known members of the Communist Party, according
to documentary evidence, and two more are also very probably CP
members. Three are Smallholders and one belongs to the National
Peasant Party.

The following members of the previous cabinet were
excluded:

Prime Minister HEGEDUS, First Deputy Premier HIDAS,
Deputy Premier MEKIS, Deputy Premier MAROSAN, Minister of the
Interior PIROS, Minister of Defense BATA, Minister of Finance OLT,
Minister of Produce Collection SZOBEK, Minister of Construction
SZIJARTO, Minister of People's Culture DARVAS, Minister of Health
ROMAN, Minister of State Farms P0GACSAS, Minister of Agriculture
MATOLCSY and Minister of Communal Economy Janos SZABO.

Of the excluded former cabinet members, only DARVAS
is not a CP member.

The situation regarding the Ministry of State Control
is for the time being unclear. No minister has been appointed.
The name of Arpad HAZI, head of this ministry, is not included in
the new cabinet list. So far the abolition of the ministry has
not been announced, therefore the post of ministers has to be
considered vacant.

END

(fourth and final
release in this
series on new
Hungarian Govt.)

  OSA / Guide / RIP / 1956 / RFE/RL Background Reports : Subjects | Browse | Search