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			{{Short description\|Leader of Hungary from 1988 to 1989}}
	'''Károly Grósz''' (] ] - ] ]) was a ] ] politician.
			{{Redirect\|Karoly Grosz\|the American film poster artist\|Karoly Grosz (illustrator)}}
			{{eastern name order\|Grósz Károly}}
			{{Infobox President
			\| name = Károly Grósz
			\| image = Grósz Károly (cropped).jpg
			\| caption = Károly Grósz in 1987
			\| nationality = ]
			\| order = General Secretary of the ]
			\| term_start = 22 May 1988
			\| term_end = 26 June 1989
			\| predecessor = ]
			\| successor = ]
			\| order2 = ] of the ]
			\| primeminister2 =
			\| term_start2 = 25 June 1987
			\| term_end2 = 24 November 1988
			\| 1blankname2 = Chairman of the Presidential Council
			\| 1namedata2 = ]<BR>]
			\| predecessor2 = ]
			\| successor2 = ]
			\| birth_date = {{Birth date\|1930\|08\|1\|df=yes}}
			\| birth_place = ], ]
			\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|1996\|1\|7\|1930\|08\|1\|df=yes}}
			\| death_place = ], ]
			\| spouse =
			\| party = {{ubl\|] (1945–1948)\|] (1948–1956)\|] (1956–1989)\|] (1989–1990)}}
			\| profession =
			}}

			'''Károly Grósz''' {{IPA-hu\|ˈkaːroj ˈɡroːs\|}} (1 August 1930 – 7 January 1996) was a ] ] politician, who served as the General Secretary of the ] from 1988 to 1989.
	Grósz was born in ], Hungary. He joined the Communist Party in ] at the age of 14. Soon the Communists had established a regime in Hungary, and Grósz rose through the party ranks, becoming an important party leader in his native region. In ] he was appointed head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda of the governing ].

			==Early career==
	In ] Grósz was elected first secretary of the party committee of his home county. In ] he returned to national prominence as the head of the party committee in ]. At the next Party Congress in 1985, he became a member of the Politburo. In ], he was appointed Prime Minister to succeed Gyorgy Lazar, who had filled the post for more than eleven years. The appointment of the much younger and energetic Grosz was acclaimed both at home and abroad. Many saw in him the representative of the new reform-minded generation of Communist leaders. As the country was facing economic troubles and growing discontent, the aging party leader Janos Kadar decided to resign, although originally he had planned to remain in office until 1990. In ] a party conference was convened, which elected Karoly Grosz as general secretary of the party at Kadar's recommendation. Grosz remained Prime Minister until later that year, and general secretary until ]. He was unable to keep abreast of the dramatic changes the country was undergoing. He tried to slow down reforms that were aimed at restoring Western-type parliamentary democracy and market economy in Hungary, as he was convinced that they would lead to turmoil and anarchy. He opposed the rehabilitation of the unlawfully executed Imre Nagy, Prime Minister during the 1956 revolution. In October 1989, the reformers within the party decided to reorganize the party along the lines of Western European Social Democracy and change its name to Hungarian Socialist Party. The hardline faction, led by Karoly Grosz Grósz, was defeated. He died in ], Hungary.
			Grósz was born in ], ]. He joined the ] in 1945 at the age of 14. The Communists took full power in 1949, and Grósz rose through the party ranks, becoming an important party leader in his native region. He functioned as head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda in the ] branch of the ] (MDP) from 1954. He also held the position during the ], when he banned local journals from coverage of events and forced to remove ] from letterhead of local newspaper ''Észak-Magyarország''. On 4 November 1956, after the revolution was crushed, Grósz was appointed head of the local party apparatus of the ruling communist party.

			In 1974 he was appointed head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda of the governing ]. In 1979 Grósz was elected first secretary of the party committee of his home county. In 1984 he returned to national prominence as the head of the party committee in ]. At the next Party Congress in 1985, he became a member of the Politburo. In 1987, he was appointed ] (] of the ] - the second most powerful position after that of General Secretary) to succeed ], who had filled the post for more than eleven years. The appointment of the younger and more energetic Grósz was acclaimed both at home and abroad.
	{{start box}}
⚫	{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=]\|years=~~1987–1988~~}}
	{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=None due to end of communist rule\|years=1988–1989}}
⚫	{{end ~~box~~}}

			As the country was facing economic troubles and growing discontent, the aging party leader ] decided to resign, although originally he had planned to remain in office until 1990. In May 1988 a party conference was convened, which elected Grósz as general secretary of the party at Kádár's recommendation on 22 May 1988. He advocated moderate and measured changes in the political and economic spheres. As he put it, this would result in a careful reform of the Communist system without touching the latter's foundations. He liked to call this a "model change" (i.e. reforms and refinements within the Communist framework), as opposed to the total "system change", i.e. the replacement of Communism by a Western-style system, advocated by a growing faction of radical reformers in the party.
	{{Hungary-politician-stub}}

			==Leader of Hungary==
⚫	]
			] in Washington, D.C., 27 July 1988]]
⚫	]
			Grósz remained prime minister until 24 November 1988, when he was succeeded by ], a representative of the radical reformer faction.
⚫	]
⚫	]

			As 1989 wore on, Grósz was increasingly sidelined by the radical reformers within the party, including Németh, ], ] and ]. He tried to slow down, stop or reverse the radical changes advocated by his adversaries that were aimed at establishing a liberal political system and market economy in Hungary. He opposed the rehabilitation of the executed ], Prime Minister during the 1956 revolution. In order to prevent Nagy's political rehabilitation, Grósz gave a speech before the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party on 1 September 1989, where he provided some information on the former prime minister's alleged ] ties, however the committee decided not to publish the charges.<ref>Johanna Granville, ''Cold War International History Project Bulletin'', Spring, 1995.</ref>
	]

	]
			Grósz's fate was sealed when he agreed to meet with Romanian leader ] to discuss what to do with a large number of ethnic Hungarians who had fled Romania. Many of Grósz' party colleagues thought he trusted Ceaușescu too much. He lost a good deal of authority as a result, and his standing never really recovered.<ref>{{cite book\|last=Sebetsyen\|first=Victor\|title=Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire\|publisher=]\|location=New York City\|year=2009\|isbn=0-375-42532-2\|url-access=registration\|url=https://archive.org/details/revolution1989fa00sebe}}</ref>

			On 26 June 1989, he became a member of a four-man collective presidency of the MSZMP, chaired by Nyers. Although Grósz retained his post as general secretary, Nyers now outranked him–and thus replaced him as the de facto leader of Hungary. However, he opposed the radical reformers' drive to reorganize the party as a ] party. He remained general secretary until 7 October, when the party reorganized itself as the ].<ref>{{Cite web \|last=Hamilton \|first=Denise \|date=1989-06-25 \|title=Reformer to Head Hungary's Communist Party \|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-25-mn-6443-story.html \|access-date=2023-05-02 \|website=Los Angeles Times \|language=en-US}}</ref>

			==Later life==
			The communist ("hardline") faction, led by Grósz, was defeated at the congress and broke away in December 1989 as a new ], with Grósz as its first acting chairman (later renamed Workers' Party and the 'Communist Workers' Party'). The party failed to win parliamentary representation in the first multiparty election in the newly formed Republic of Hungary. ] took place on 25 March and 8 April 1990.<ref>;
			(])</ref>

			On 7 January 1996, he died of kidney cancer at age 65 in ], Hungary.<ref>{{cite news\|title=Karoly Grosz, 65, Is Dead; Began Hungarian Reforms\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/09/world/karoly-grosz-65-is-dead-began-hungarian-reforms.html\|access-date=15 November 2014\|work=The New York Times\|agency=Reuters\|date=9 January 1996}}</ref>

			== Notes ==
			<references/>

			== External links ==
			* before the ] (USA), 1988 {{s-start}}

			{{s-off}}
		⚫	{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=]\|years=1987–1988}}
			{{s-ppo}}
			{{succession box\|title=]\|before=]\|after=party dissolved\|years=1988–1989}}
		⚫	{{s-end}}
			{{HungarianPrimeMinisters}}
			{{Leaders of the Ruling Parties of the Eastern Bloc}}

			{{Authority control}}

			{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosz, Karoly}}
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			]
			]
			]
		⚫	]
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			]
			]

Latest revision as of 07:02, 8 May 2024

Leader of Hungary from 1988 to 1989 "Karoly Grosz" redirects here. For the American film poster artist, see Karoly Grosz (illustrator). The native form of this personal name is Grósz Károly. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Károly Grósz
Károly Grósz in 1987

General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party
In office 22 May 1988 – 26 June 1989
Preceded by	János Kádár
Succeeded by	Rezső Nyers
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary
In office 25 June 1987 – 24 November 1988
Chairman of the Presidential Council	Károly Németh Brunó Ferenc Straub
Preceded by	György Lázár
Succeeded by	Miklós Németh

Personal details
Born	(1930-08-01)1 August 1930 Miskolc, Hungary
Died	7 January 1996(1996-01-07) (aged 65) Gödöllő, Hungary
Political party	Hungarian Communist Party (1945–1948) Hungarian Working People's Party (1948–1956) Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (1956–1989) Workers' Party (1989–1990)

Károly Grósz [ˈkaːroj ˈɡroːs] (1 August 1930 – 7 January 1996) was a Hungarian communist politician, who served as the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party from 1988 to 1989.

Early career

Grósz was born in Miskolc, Hungary. He joined the Hungarian Communist Party in 1945 at the age of 14. The Communists took full power in 1949, and Grósz rose through the party ranks, becoming an important party leader in his native region. He functioned as head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda in the Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County branch of the Hungarian Working People's Party (MDP) from 1954. He also held the position during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, when he banned local journals from coverage of events and forced to remove Kossuth Coat of Arms from letterhead of local newspaper Észak-Magyarország. On 4 November 1956, after the revolution was crushed, Grósz was appointed head of the local party apparatus of the ruling communist party.

In 1974 he was appointed head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda of the governing Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. In 1979 Grósz was elected first secretary of the party committee of his home county. In 1984 he returned to national prominence as the head of the party committee in Budapest. At the next Party Congress in 1985, he became a member of the Politburo. In 1987, he was appointed Prime Minister of Hungary (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary - the second most powerful position after that of General Secretary) to succeed György Lázár, who had filled the post for more than eleven years. The appointment of the younger and more energetic Grósz was acclaimed both at home and abroad.

As the country was facing economic troubles and growing discontent, the aging party leader János Kádár decided to resign, although originally he had planned to remain in office until 1990. In May 1988 a party conference was convened, which elected Grósz as general secretary of the party at Kádár's recommendation on 22 May 1988. He advocated moderate and measured changes in the political and economic spheres. As he put it, this would result in a careful reform of the Communist system without touching the latter's foundations. He liked to call this a "model change" (i.e. reforms and refinements within the Communist framework), as opposed to the total "system change", i.e. the replacement of Communism by a Western-style system, advocated by a growing faction of radical reformers in the party.

Leader of Hungary

Grósz remained prime minister until 24 November 1988, when he was succeeded by Miklós Németh, a representative of the radical reformer faction.

As 1989 wore on, Grósz was increasingly sidelined by the radical reformers within the party, including Németh, Rezső Nyers, Gyula Horn and Imre Pozsgay. He tried to slow down, stop or reverse the radical changes advocated by his adversaries that were aimed at establishing a liberal political system and market economy in Hungary. He opposed the rehabilitation of the executed Imre Nagy, Prime Minister during the 1956 revolution. In order to prevent Nagy's political rehabilitation, Grósz gave a speech before the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party on 1 September 1989, where he provided some information on the former prime minister's alleged NKVD ties, however the committee decided not to publish the charges.

Grósz's fate was sealed when he agreed to meet with Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu to discuss what to do with a large number of ethnic Hungarians who had fled Romania. Many of Grósz' party colleagues thought he trusted Ceaușescu too much. He lost a good deal of authority as a result, and his standing never really recovered.

On 26 June 1989, he became a member of a four-man collective presidency of the MSZMP, chaired by Nyers. Although Grósz retained his post as general secretary, Nyers now outranked him–and thus replaced him as the de facto leader of Hungary. However, he opposed the radical reformers' drive to reorganize the party as a social democratic party. He remained general secretary until 7 October, when the party reorganized itself as the Hungarian Socialist Party.

Later life

The communist ("hardline") faction, led by Grósz, was defeated at the congress and broke away in December 1989 as a new Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, with Grósz as its first acting chairman (later renamed Workers' Party and the 'Communist Workers' Party'). The party failed to win parliamentary representation in the first multiparty election in the newly formed Republic of Hungary. These elections took place on 25 March and 8 April 1990.

On 7 January 1996, he died of kidney cancer at age 65 in Gödöllő, Hungary.

Notes

Johanna Granville, Imre Nagy aka 'Volodya' – A Dent in the Martyr's Halo? Cold War International History Project Bulletin, Spring, 1995.
Sebetsyen, Victor (2009). Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire. New York City: Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-375-42532-2.
Hamilton, Denise (1989-06-25). "Reformer to Head Hungary's Communist Party". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
www.electionresources.org/hu; ipu.org (Inter-Parliamentary Union)
"Karoly Grosz, 65, Is Dead; Began Hungarian Reforms". The New York Times. Reuters. 9 January 1996. Retrieved 15 November 2014.

External links

Address of Karoly Grosz before the National Press Club (USA), 1988

Political offices
Preceded byGyörgy Lázár	Prime Minister of Hungary 1987–1988	Succeeded byMiklós Németh
Party political offices
Preceded byJános Kádár	General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party 1988–1989	Succeeded byparty dissolved

v t e Prime ministers of Hungary
List By length of term Graphical Records
Revolution of 1848	Batthyány (Récsey) Kossuth Szemere
Kingdom (1867–1918)	Andrássy Lónyay Szlávy Bittó Wenckheim K. Tisza Szapáry Wekerle Bánffy Széll Khuen-Héderváry I. Tisza Fejérváry Wekerle Khuen-Héderváry Lukács I. Tisza Esterházy Wekerle Hadik
First Republic	M. Károlyi Berinkey
Soviet Republic	Garbai Peidl opposed by G. Károlyi Pattantyús-Ábrahám
Republic (1919–20)	Friedrich Huszár
Kingdom (1920–1946)	Simonyi-Semadam Teleki Bethlen G. Károlyi Gömbös Darányi Imrédy Teleki Keresztes-Fischer Bárdossy Keresztes-Fischer Kállay Sztójay Lakatos Szálasi Miklós Tildy
Second Republic	Rákosi F. Nagy Rákosi Dinnyés Dobi
People's Republic	Dobi Rákosi I. Nagy Hegedüs I. Nagy Kádár Münnich Kádár Kállai Fock Lázár Grósz Németh
Third Republic	Németh Antall Boross Horn Orbán Medgyessy Gyurcsány Bajnai Orbán
Italics indicates interim officeholders.

Leaders of the ruling Communist parties of the Eastern Bloc

Party of Labour of Albania	Enver Hoxha Ramiz Alia
Bulgarian Communist Party	Georgi Dimitrov Valko Chervenkov Todor Zhivkov Petar Mladenov
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia	Klement Gottwald Antonín Novotný Alexander Dubček Gustáv Husák Miloš Jakeš Karel Urbánek
Socialist Unity Party of Germany	Wilhelm Pieck Otto Grotewohl Walter Ulbricht Erich Honecker Egon Krenz
Hungarian Working People's Party Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party	Mátyás Rákosi Ernő Gerő Imre Nagy János Kádár Károly Grósz Rezső Nyers

Polish Workers' Party Polish United Workers' Party	Bolesław Bierut Edward Ochab Władysław Gomułka Edward Gierek Stanisław Kania Wojciech Jaruzelski Mieczysław Rakowski
Romanian Communist Party	Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Apostol Nicolae Ceaușescu
Communist Party of the Soviet Union	Vladimir Lenin Joseph Stalin Georgy Malenkov Nikita Khrushchev Leonid Brezhnev Yuri Andropov Konstantin Chernenko Mikhail Gorbachev
League of Communists of Yugoslavia	Josip Broz Tito Stevan Doronjski Lazar Mojsov Dušan Dragosavac Mitja Ribičič Dragoslav Marković Ali Šukrija Vidoje Žarković Milanko Renovica Boško Krunić Stipe Šuvar Milan Pančevski

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