Geography:

    Area: 93,030 sq. km. (35,910 sq. mi.)

    Terrain: Mostly flat, with low mountains in the north and northeast and north of Lake Balaton.

    Climate: Temperate

People:

     Population (est.): 10.1 million.

    Ethnic groups: Magyar 92%, Romany 4% (est.), German 2%, Slovak 1%, others 1%.

    Religions: Roman Catholic 68%, Calvinist 21%, Lutheran 4%, Jewish 1%, others, including Baptist Adventist, Pentecostal, Unitarian 3%.

    Languages: Magyar 98%, other 2%.  

    Money: forint (HUF)   1 US Dollar=257.89

Government:  

   Official Name: Republic of Hungary

    Capital: Budapest

    Type: Republic.

    Constitution: August 20, 1949. Substantially rewritten in 1989, amended in 1990.

    Branches: Executive, Legislative, Judicial

Before 1000 AD – Hungary converts to Western Christianity

Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy reigns from 1867-1918

At the end of WWI, Hungary lost about 2/3 of its population

In 1919, there was a brief, bloody communist dictatorship and counterrevolution.  Then there was a 25 year regency under Miklos Horthy.

Hungary fights in WWII as a German ally, but on October 15, 1944 they try unsuccessfully to switch sides. The Germans then begin an occupation of Hungary.

January 1945 – the Allied Control Commission was established and Soviet, British, and American representatives had complete control over Hungary.  The chairman who held complete control was a member of Stalin’s inner circle.

In November 1945, the provisional government was replaced by the Independent Smallholders’ Party.  The old government was run by the Hungarian Communist Party. 

The new government nationalized mines, electric plants, heavy industries, and some large banks.  They also started radical land reform.

After 1947, Matyas Rakosi, who was trained in Moscow, developed a communist dictatorship.

All parties were made to merge into one party called the Hungarian Workers’ Party by February 1949.

Elections were held in 1949 and a Soviet-style constitution was adopted, creating the Hungarian People’s Republic. 

In 1952, Matyas Rakosi, became Prime Minister.

To fit the Soviet Model, the Hungarian economy was reorganized between 1948 and 1953.  In 1949, Hungary joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA, or Comecon), to Soviet economic organization. 

In 1953, Rokosi was removed as Prime Minister and replaced by Imre Nagy.  Nagy had a more flexible policy and undid much of what Rakosi did. 

Nagy was forced from power in 1955 by Rakosi. 

Hungary also joined the Warsaw Pact Treaty Organization, led by the Soviets in 1955.

As Rakosi took power again, the stir of opposition rose and Moscow replaced him with his deputy Erno Gero. 

October 23, 1956 - security forces fired on Budapest students marching in support of Poland's confrontation with the Soviet Union.  The battle turned into a popular uprising and Gero called in Soviet troops.

On October 25, the fighting stopped when Nagy was renamed Prime Minister.

October 26 - Janos Kadar replaced Gero as party first secretary.

As Soviet troops come into Hungary without permission, Nagy withdraws from the Warsaw Pact on November 1.  He asks the United Nations and other Western powers for protection, but they were occupied with the Suez Canal crisis. 

On November 3, the Soviet Union began a huge attack on Hungary and about 200, 000 Hungarians fled to the West.

Kadar fled to the Soviet Union on November 4 and then returned to Hungary and executed Nagy and all his government officials.  This was not officially reported until June of 1958.

In the early 1960’s, Kadar institutes a new policy aimed at overcoming the post-1956 hostility toward him and his regime. 

In 1966, the Central Committee approved the "New Economic Mechanism," through which it sought to overcome the inefficiencies of central planning, increase productivity, make Hungary more competitive in world markets, and create prosperity to ensure political stability.

The eventual transition was inspired by nationalism.  By 1987, activists within the Hungarian party and other bureaucrats and intellectuals were pressuring for a changed government.

Kadar was replaced as the General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1988.  That same year, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package," which included trade union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly, and the press; a new electoral law; and a radical revision of the constitution, among others.

In April 1989, the Soviet Union signs an agreement saying that they will remove forces from Hungary by June 1991.

In October 1989, the communist party convened its last congress and re-established itself as the Hungarian Socialist Party.

October 16-20, 1989 – the Parliament adopted legislation allowing for multi-party parliament elections and a direct presidential election.  The first was held in 1990 and the Democratic Forum won 43% of the popular vote. 

In May 1994, the socialist party won the majority of votes and 54% of the Parliament seats.