Ernő Gerő facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ernő Gerő
Gerő in 1962
First Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party
In office 18 July 1956 – 25 October 1956
Preceded by	Mátyás Rákosi
Succeeded by	János Kádár
Minister of the Interior
In office 4 July 1953 – 6 June 1954
Prime Minister	Imre Nagy
Preceded by	József Györe
Succeeded by	László Piros
Minister of Finance
In office 3 December 1948 – 11 June 1949
Prime Minister	Lajos Dinnyés István Dobi
Preceded by	Miklós Nyárádi
Succeeded by	István Kossa
Member of the High National Council
In office 26 January 1945 – 11 May 1945 Serving with Béla Miklós and Béla Zsedényi
Preceded by	Béla Miklós (de facto head of state)
Succeeded by	József Révai
Personal details
Born	Ernő Singer (1898-07-08)8 July 1898 Terbegec, Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Trebušovce, Slovakia)
Died	12 March 1980(1980-03-12) (aged 81) Budapest, People’s Republic of Hungary
Political party	Hungarian Communist Party (1918–1942) Hungarian Working People's Party (1942–1962)
Spouse	Erzsébet Fazekas (1900–1967)
Children	2 sons 1 daughter

Ernő Gerő (born Ernő Singer; 8 July 1898 – 12 March 1980) was an important Hungarian Communist leader. He played a big role in Hungary after World War II. For a short time in 1956, he was the most powerful person in Hungary. He led the country's main communist party.

Early Life and Political Start

Gerő was born in Terbegec, which was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, this place is called Trebušovce in Slovakia. He joined the Hungarian Communist Party when it first started in November 1918. He stopped his studies when the Hungarian Soviet Republic was formed. He became a full-time member of the Young Communists.

When the revolution ended, Gerő moved to Vienna. He secretly returned to Hungary in September 1921. He was arrested after a year. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. However, he was released after two years. This happened because of a prisoner exchange deal between Moscow and Budapest.

Working for the Comintern

Gerő already knew seven languages. In 1925, he started working for the Comintern. This was an international group of communist parties. He was sent to a factory for six months to learn Russian. During the 20 years he lived in the Soviet Union, Gerő worked as an agent for the NKVD. This was the Soviet secret police.

Through his work with the Comintern, Gerő was active in France. He also fought in the Spanish Civil War. During this war, he helped remove groups that disagreed with the main communist ideas within the International Brigades.

World War II and Return to Hungary

When World War II started in Europe, Gerő was in Moscow. He stayed there for the entire war. After the Communist International group was dissolved in 1943, he was in charge of spreading information to enemy soldiers and prisoners of war.

Gerő was one of the first communist officials to return to Hungary. He came back in early November 1944. He was a member of Hungary's temporary government, called the High National Council. He served from January to May 1945.

Rise to Power in Hungary

In the November 1945 election, the Hungarian Communist Party, led by Gerő and Mátyás Rákosi, received only 17% of the votes. The Independent Smallholders' Party got 57%. However, the Soviet commander in Hungary made sure a coalition government was formed. This government had communists in very important positions.

The communists held another election in 1949 and took full control. Rákosi became the party leader. Gerő and Mihály Farkas were Rákosi's closest helpers. Rákosi also became the Prime Minister in 1952.

However, his power weakened a year later when Joseph Stalin died. Imre Nagy then became prime minister. Gerő was kept in his position to balance out the new reformers. Rákosi managed to get back control. But then, Nikita Khrushchev gave a secret speech in early 1956. This speech criticized Stalin's way of ruling. Because of this, Rákosi was forced to leave his job on July 18, 1956. The party then chose Gerő to take over as party leader.

Gerő's Short Leadership

Gerő in 1955

Gerő led Hungary for a very short time. This period is sometimes called the 'Gerő Interregnum'. It lasted from July 18, 1956, to October 24, 1956, which was just over three months. He had been a close partner of Rákosi since 1948. He was involved in removing people from the party. He also helped with the country's industrialization and the forced joining of farms into large collective farms.

Later Life and Death

On October 23, 1956, students marched through Budapest. They wanted to give a petition to the government. More and more people joined the march in the streets. Gerő responded with a very harsh speech. This made the people even angrier, and the police started shooting. This event marked the beginning of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

As the revolution spread, the central committee met on October 25. They decided that János Kádár should become the new party leader. They also decided that Imre Nagy should be the prime minister. This ended Gerő's short time as leader.

Gerő went to the Soviet Union. After the revolution was stopped, the new communist government in Hungary did not let him return at first. He was finally allowed to come back from exile in 1960. However, he was quickly removed from the Communist Party. He worked as a translator in Budapest during his retirement. He died in Budapest in 1980 when he was 81 years old.

See also

In Spanish: Erno Gerö para niños