Revolutionary Governing Council (Hungary)
혁명통치평의회
The supreme executive body that served as the government of the Hungarian Soviet Republic from 21 March to 1 August 1919. Its members were called people's commissars, and Sándor Garbai chaired it throughout. It was drawn from the Socialist Party of Hungary formed by the merger of the Social Democrats and the Communists, and Béla Kun, the commissar for foreign affairs, carried the most authority. The republic's main measures were issued as its decrees.
In depth
The Revolutionary Governing Council had 15 members at its formation; from 7 April to 24 June 1919 it had 35, the largest government in Hungarian history, and 13 shortly before it resigned. Most commissars were former Social Democratic politicians and the rest Communists. Until 3 April every commissar had a deputy, but their duties were not clearly divided and deputies often signed official papers as commissars.
When the provisional constitution was promulgated as Decree No. XXVI of the Council on 2 April, the Council reorganised itself. It abolished the post of deputy commissar, made the deputies full commissars, and had each commissariat except the German and Ruthenian ones led jointly by two to six commissars. From 25 May the National Economic Council absorbed the five economic commissariats of agriculture, social production, supply, transport and finance.
The National Assembly of Federal Councils of 14 to 23 June adopted the constitution of the Hungarian Socialist Federative Republic of Councils and elected a 150-member Federal Central Executive Committee, which commissioned a new Governing Council the next day. The new constitution made the commissars the members of the Council, had the Council appoint them to head the commissariats and the departments of the National Economic Council, and subjected its decrees to review by the Federal Central Executive Committee. Under Garbai as chairman, Kun kept foreign affairs and Jenő Landler the interior.
When the Romanian army crossed the Tisza and approached Budapest at the end of July, a joint meeting of the party leadership and the Governing Council decided on 1 August to resign, and the Soviet Republic ended after 133 days. The Council was also called the Soviet government (Tanácskormány).