Béla Biszku
| Béla Biszku | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of the Interior of Hungary | |
| In office 1 March 1957 – 13 September 1961 | |
| Preceded by | Ferenc Münnich |
| Succeeded by | János Pap |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 13, 1921 Márokpapi, Hungary |
| Political party | Hungarian Communist Party, Hungarian Worker's Party, MSZMP |
| Profession | politician |
Béla Biszku (born 13 September 1921) is a Hungarian historical revisionist and former communist politician. Between 1957 and 1961 he served as Interior Minister in the government of János Kádár, and between 1961–1962 became the deputy prime minister. From 1962 until 1978, he was a Secretary of the Central Committee. In 1972, together with Zoltán Komócsin, and other fellow communists, he became involved in a plot to force János Kádár to resign from virtually all of his public functions in an effort to return Hungary to a more orthodox Soviet-style line. To achieve his goals, Biszku tried to convince Yuri Andropov of the rightness of his cause, who immediately alerted Kádár. Afterwards Kádár slowly removed Biszku from power.
He is known for the severity he showed in suppressing and punishing after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, one of the largest revolt against the communist government in the Eastern Bloc and its Soviet-imposed policies, was defeated.
From the End of Communism until 2011, he successfully evaded any kind of prosecution for human rights abuses committed under the Kádár regime while living in relative obscurity. In the meantime, he involved himself in revisionist causes trying to portray the dictatorship in a favorable light.
Criminal investigation
A criminal investigation against Biszku was opened in 2011. He is being charged with denial of communist crimes that may result in a three year jail sentence.[1]
On 10 September, 2012, Biszku was placed under house arrest on charge of suspicion of committing war crimes. He is the first politician of the 1956 Communist leadership to face a criminal inquiry. He is accused of failing to protect civilians in wartime. In addition, he needs to hold responsibility for ordering the security forces to open fire on crowds. In case, he is found guilty of the charges brought up against him that he has indefatigably denied, he could face a life imprisonment.[2]
Literature
- Szabó, Miklós: Adalékok a Magyar Néphadsereg 1961-1962. évi történetéhez. 1. rész, in: Új Honvédségi Szemle. LXI. évf., 2007/9. sz., 96. p
- Bölöny, József: Magyarország kormányai. 1848–1992, 4. bőv. és jav. kiad., Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1992. 269. p.
- G. Tabajdi, K. Ungvári: Elhallgatott múlt, Corvina, Budapest, 2008, pp. 99–100.
References
- ↑ "Denying communist crimes". Earth Times. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
- ↑ "Hungary 1956 counter-revolutionary Béla Biszku arrested". Politics.hu. 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ferenc Münnich |
Minister of the Interior 1957–1961 |
Succeeded by János Pap |
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