Ferenc Nagy was born in
Hungary
in 1903. He became involved
in politics and in 1930 he helped form the Smallholders Party. It
drew most of its support from the peasants who formed more than 50
per cent of the country. However, until 1939, the ballot had been
open in rural constituencies, and therefore large landowners were
able to force most peasants to vote for the government party. The
leaders of the Smallholders Party were mainly members of the middle
class and their political views varied from liberals to socialists.
The Soviet
Army invaded Hungary
in September 1944. It set
up an alternative government in Debrecen on 21st December 1944 but
did not capture Budapest until 18th January 1945. Soon afterwards
Zoltan
Tildy became
the provisional prime minister.
In elections held in November,
1945, the Smallholders Party won 57% of the vote. The Hungarian Workers
Party, now under the leadership of Matyas
Rakosi and Erno Gero, received support
from only 17% of the population. The Soviet commander in Hungary,
Marshal Voroshilov, refused to allow the Smallholders to form a government.
Instead Voroshilov established a coalition government with Nagy as
prime minister.
The Hungarian Communist
Party became the largest single party in the elections in 1947 and
served in the coalition People's Independence Front government. The
communists gradually gained control of the government and by 1948
the Smallholders Party ceased to exist as an independent organization.
Ferenc Nagy emigrated to
the United States where he died in 1979.
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