István Bethlen

Count István Bethlen de Bethlen
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary
In office 14 April 1921 – 24 August 1931 (&1000000000000001000000010 years, &10000000000000132000000132 days)
Preceded by	Pál Teleki
Succeeded by	Gyula Károlyi
Personal details
Born	8 October 1874(1874-10-08) Gernyeszeg, Hungary
Died	5 October 1946(1946-10-05) (aged 71) Moscow, Soviet Union
Nationality	Hungarian
Political party	Liberal Party, Independence Party of 48, Constitution Party, Unity Party, Party of National Unity
Spouse(s)	Countess Margit Bethlen de Bethlen
Profession	politician, jurist

The native form of this personal name is bethleni gróf Bethlen István. This article uses the Western name order.

Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (8 October 1874, Gernyeszeg – 5 October 1946, Moscow) was a Hungarian aristocrat and statesman and served as Prime Minister from 1921 to 1931.

The scion of a noble Transylvanian family, Bethlen was elected to the Hungarian parliament as a Liberal in 1901. Later, he served as a representative of the new Hungarian government at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. In that year, the weak centrist Hungarian government collapsed, and was soon replaced by a communist Hungarian Soviet Republic, under the leadership of Béla Kun. Bethlen quickly returned to Hungary to assume leadership of the anti-communist "white" government based in Szeged, along with former Austro-Hungarian admiral Miklós Horthy. After the "white" forces seized control of Hungary, Horthy was appointed Regent. Bethlen again took a seat in the Hungarian parliament, allying with the conservative factions there.

After the attempted return of King Károly IV to the throne of Hungary in 1921, Horthy asked Bethlen to form a strong government to eliminate the possibility of other such threats to the new country. Bethlen founded the Party of National Unity. Through a system of ballot manipulation, handing out government jobs, and changing the electoral law to enfranchise supporters, he was able to form a political machine that was unstoppable in Hungarian politics. Bethlen was also able to unite the two most powerful factors in Hungarian society, the wealthy, primarily Jewish industrialists in Budapest and the old Magyar gentry in rural Hungary, into a lasting coalition; this effectively checked the rise of Fascism in the country for at least a decade. Bethlen was also able to reach an accord with the labor unions, earning their support for the government and eliminating a source of domestic dissent.

Bethlen and the Hungarian delegation in the Hague

During his decade in office, Bethlen led Hungary into the League of Nations and arranged a close alliance with Fascist Italy, even entering into a Treaty of Friendship with Italy in 1927, in order to further the nation's revisionist hopes. He was, however, defeated in his attempts to change the Treaty of Trianon, which stripped Hungary of most of its territory after the First World War. The Great Depression shifted Hungarian politics to the extreme right, and Horthy replaced Bethlen with Gyula Károlyi, followed quickly by Gyula Gömbös, a noted Fascist and antisemite.

Increasingly shunted into political obscurity, Bethlen stood out as one of the few voices in Hungary actively opposed to an alliance with Nazi Germany. As it became apparent that Germany was going to lose the Second World War, Bethlen attempted, unsuccessfully, to negotiate a separate peace with the Allied powers. When Budapest fell to the advancing Soviet troops in April 1945, Bethlen was captured and taken to Moscow, where he died in prison on 5 October 1946.

References

• 130 éve született Bethlen István Fábri Ferenc (Múlt-kor)
• Zsolt Béla: Bethlen
• A SZEFHE Rabonbánja

Political offices
Preceded by Pál Teleki	Prime Minister of Hungary 1921–1931	Succeeded by Gyula Károlyi
Preceded by Lajos Hegyeshalmi	Minister of Finance Acting 1921	Succeeded by Tibor Kállay
Preceded by Emil Nagy	Minister of Justice Acting 1924	Succeeded by Pál Pesthy
Preceded by Géza Daruváry	Minister of Foreign Affairs Acting 1924	Succeeded by Tibor Scitovszky
Preceded by István Szabó de Nagyatád	Minister of Agriculture Acting 1924	Succeeded by János Mayer
Preceded by Pál Pesthy	Minister of Justice Acting 1929	Succeeded by Tibor Zsitvay

Persondata
Name	Bethlen, Istvan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	8 October 1874
Place of birth	Gernyeszeg, Hungary
Date of death	5 October 1946
Place of death	Moscow, Soviet Union