István Bethlen
Bethlen István
Transylvanian aristocrat who, as prime minister in 1921–1931, consolidated the Horthy regime with a restricted franchise and a League loan
Scion of an old Transylvanian noble family, he entered parliament as a liberal in 1901. He joined the counter-revolution in Szeged in 1919 and became prime minister in April 1921, after King Charles’s first return attempt. He founded the Unity Party, secured its victories by restoring the open ballot in the countryside with the Franchise Act of 1922, concluded a pact with the Social Democrats, and stabilised the economy through League of Nations membership and a loan. He resigned in the Depression in 1931 and in 1941 opposed war with the Soviet Union. Arrested by the Soviets in 1945, he died in a Moscow prison in 1946.
Career timeline
- 1901Enters parliament as a liberal
- 1919Joins the Szeged counter-revolution
- 1921–1931Prime minister
- 1921Bethlen–Peyer Pact
- 1922Founds the Unity Party; Franchise Act
- 1924League of Nations loan
- 1945–1946Arrested by the Soviets; dies in a Moscow prison