József Antall
Encyclopedia
József Antall was the first democratically-elected Prime Minister of Hungary after the fall of Communism (from 23 May 1990 until 12 December 1993, his death), teacher
, librarian
, historian
and political figure. He was the leader of the Hungarian Democratic Forum
between 1989 and 1993.
and civil servant, worked for the government in several ministries. Antall, Sr. coordinated the first living wage
calculations in Hungary, and he was a founding member of the Independent Smallholders' Party (1931)). During World War II
, he presided the government committee for refugees. After the German occupation of Hungary he resigned, later he was arrested by the Gestapo
. After the war, he became Minister of Reconstruction in the government of Zoltán Tildy
. Later, he became president of the Hungarian Red Cross, but after the communist coup he resigned and retired to his family estate. In 1991, he was posthumously honoured by Yad Vashem
.
His mother, Irén Szűcs, was the daughter of a village teacher. Her father, István Szűcs, also became a political figure as a deputy Secretary of State.
József Antall had a sister, Edith Antall. His brother-in-law, Géza Jeszenszky
later became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Antall and his wife, Klára Fülepp, had two children, György Antall, a lawyer, and Péter Antall, a photojournalist.
and literature
at the Eötvös Loránd University as well as history
and archival science
. He wrote his thesis about the politics of József Eötvös
, obtaining degrees in teaching, library science
and museology
. On September 30, 1991, Antall was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Central Connecticut State University
.
crushed the revolution, he was arrested and released several times. He continued his teaching career in Ferenc Toldy Grammar School in 1957, but in 1959 he was banned from teaching due to his former political activities.
Following this, he worked as a librarian for two years. In 1963 he wrote biographies of 80 doctors for the Lexicon of Hungarian Biographies. He became interested in the history of medicine
, and conducted fundamental research in the area. He started working in the library and archives department of the Semmelweis
Museum, dedicated to the history of medicine. Starting as a research fellow, he was promoted to deputy director and in 1974 he became director of the institute.
His research was recognised internationally, and in 1986 he was the vice president of the International Society for History of Medicine.
on 22 March 1989 and worked in the committee on constitutional reform. He became well known for his activities during the negotiations.
On 21 October 1989 he was elected President of the Hungarian Democratic Forum
by an overwhelming majority, thus becoming the party's official candidate for prime minister. MDF won the elections in 1990 and on 23 May he became the first freely elected Prime Minister of Hungary since 1945. As prime minister, Antall oversaw the establishment of a legal system to promote a market economy and attract foreign investment. The ruling coalition attempted to stabilize the economy while implementing privatization and other elements of a market economy, while the populist right wing of the MDF was vocal about the “national issue”—the question of the Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries—and attempted to put it at the centre of the government's platform.
However, the return to a capitalist system and all its accompanying reforms exposed the precarious state of Hungary's state-run economy, which resulted in socioeconomic difficulties for the country during Antall's term. Unemployment jumped from nonexistence to 14 percent. Inflation increased at an annual rate of 23–35 percent (excluding indexing of wages and pensions). Older, retired people, more than one-fifth of the population, suffered the most, and the living standards of more than one-third of the populace declined to below subsistence level. In the meantime, income disparities increased, which irritated the people. Corruption became more widespread and visible than before. Together with the previously omnipotent police force, street security also collapsed in 1990. The crime rate, especially in Budapest, increased threefold in five years.
In the summer of 1990, Antall and the MDF supported the introduction of a Catholic religious education into the national curriculum. This led to conflict with the other coalition parties, since only three-quarters of the Hungarian population were Catholics. By 1991 Antall was receiving criticism for his authoritarian style, though this contrasted with his uncharismatic presence. Conflict over their powers erupted between him and Hungary's President, Árpád Göncz
, who belonged to the opposing party, the Alliance of Free Democrats
.
Antall became ill with cancer
and died on 12 December 1993, before the end of his 4-year term.
In recognition of his work, one of the buildings of the European Parliament in Brussels
was named after him in 2008.
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and political figure. He was the leader of the Hungarian Democratic Forum
Hungarian Democratic Forum
The Hungarian Democratic Forum , abbreviated to MDF, was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a liberal conservative and Christian democratic ideology...
between 1989 and 1993.
Family
József Antall was born to an ancient Hungarian family from the lower nobility. His father, József Antall Sr. juristJurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and civil servant, worked for the government in several ministries. Antall, Sr. coordinated the first living wage
Living wage
In public policy, a living wage is the minimum hourly income necessary for a worker to meet basic needs . These needs include shelter and other incidentals such as clothing and nutrition...
calculations in Hungary, and he was a founding member of the Independent Smallholders' Party (1931)). During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he presided the government committee for refugees. After the German occupation of Hungary he resigned, later he was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. After the war, he became Minister of Reconstruction in the government of Zoltán Tildy
Zoltán Tildy
Zoltán Tildy , was an influential leader of Hungary, who served as Prime Minister from 1945–1946 and President from 1946-1948 in the post-war period before the seizure of power by Soviet-backed communists....
. Later, he became president of the Hungarian Red Cross, but after the communist coup he resigned and retired to his family estate. In 1991, he was posthumously honoured by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
.
His mother, Irén Szűcs, was the daughter of a village teacher. Her father, István Szűcs, also became a political figure as a deputy Secretary of State.
József Antall had a sister, Edith Antall. His brother-in-law, Géza Jeszenszky
Géza Jeszenszky
Géza Jeszenszky is a Hungarian politician and associate professor, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and ambassador to the United States. He is currently appointed ambassador of Hungary to Norway.-Family:...
later became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Antall and his wife, Klára Fülepp, had two children, György Antall, a lawyer, and Péter Antall, a photojournalist.
Education
He graduated from the Budapest Piarist High School in 1950. He was interested in politics early on, but (quite understandably) didn't pursue his political career during the communist regime of the 1950s. After graduating from high school, he studied Hungarian languageHungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
and literature
Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature is literature written in the Hungarian language, predominantly by Hungarians.There is a limited amount of Old Hungarian literature dating to between the late 12th and the early 16th centuries...
at the Eötvös Loránd University as well as history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and archival science
Archival science
Archival science is the theory and study of storing, cataloguing, and retrieving documents and items. Archival science evolved from mankind's need to classify the world around them...
. He wrote his thesis about the politics of József Eötvös
József Eötvös
József baron Eötvös de Vásárosnamény was a Hungarian writer and statesman, the son of Ignacz baron Eötvös de Vásárosnamény and Anna von Lilien, who stemmed from an Erbsälzer family of Werl in Germany....
, obtaining degrees in teaching, library science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
and museology
Museology
Museology is the diachronic study of museums and how they have established and developed in their role as an educational mechanism under social and political pressures.-Overview:...
. On September 30, 1991, Antall was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from Central Connecticut State University
Commencement at CCSU
Central Connecticut State University's annual Commencement Exercises are held each May at the XL Center in Hartford. In most years, a separate graduation ceremony for recipients of advanced degrees is held on campus at Herbert D. Welte Hall....
.
Career until the prime ministership
After graduating from the university, he worked for the Hungarian State Archives and the Research Institute of Pedagogy. In 1955, he started teaching in József Eötvös Grammar School, leading the Revolutionary Committee of the school during the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. During the revolution, he participated in the reorganization of the Independent Smallholders Party and in the founding of the Christian Youth Alliance. After the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
crushed the revolution, he was arrested and released several times. He continued his teaching career in Ferenc Toldy Grammar School in 1957, but in 1959 he was banned from teaching due to his former political activities.
Following this, he worked as a librarian for two years. In 1963 he wrote biographies of 80 doctors for the Lexicon of Hungarian Biographies. He became interested in the history of medicine
History of medicine
All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, astral influence, or the will of the gods...
, and conducted fundamental research in the area. He started working in the library and archives department of the Semmelweis
Semmelweis
Semmelweis is surname of:* Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis* Contemporary reaction to Ignaz Semmelweis* Semmelweis reflex * Semmelweis Society, a non-profit whistleblower and advocacy group for physicians formed in 1986...
Museum, dedicated to the history of medicine. Starting as a research fellow, he was promoted to deputy director and in 1974 he became director of the institute.
His research was recognised internationally, and in 1986 he was the vice president of the International Society for History of Medicine.
Return to politics, term as Prime Minister
He was delegated to the National Roundtable Talks by the Hungarian Democratic ForumHungarian Democratic Forum
The Hungarian Democratic Forum , abbreviated to MDF, was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a liberal conservative and Christian democratic ideology...
on 22 March 1989 and worked in the committee on constitutional reform. He became well known for his activities during the negotiations.
On 21 October 1989 he was elected President of the Hungarian Democratic Forum
Hungarian Democratic Forum
The Hungarian Democratic Forum , abbreviated to MDF, was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a liberal conservative and Christian democratic ideology...
by an overwhelming majority, thus becoming the party's official candidate for prime minister. MDF won the elections in 1990 and on 23 May he became the first freely elected Prime Minister of Hungary since 1945. As prime minister, Antall oversaw the establishment of a legal system to promote a market economy and attract foreign investment. The ruling coalition attempted to stabilize the economy while implementing privatization and other elements of a market economy, while the populist right wing of the MDF was vocal about the “national issue”—the question of the Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries—and attempted to put it at the centre of the government's platform.
However, the return to a capitalist system and all its accompanying reforms exposed the precarious state of Hungary's state-run economy, which resulted in socioeconomic difficulties for the country during Antall's term. Unemployment jumped from nonexistence to 14 percent. Inflation increased at an annual rate of 23–35 percent (excluding indexing of wages and pensions). Older, retired people, more than one-fifth of the population, suffered the most, and the living standards of more than one-third of the populace declined to below subsistence level. In the meantime, income disparities increased, which irritated the people. Corruption became more widespread and visible than before. Together with the previously omnipotent police force, street security also collapsed in 1990. The crime rate, especially in Budapest, increased threefold in five years.
In the summer of 1990, Antall and the MDF supported the introduction of a Catholic religious education into the national curriculum. This led to conflict with the other coalition parties, since only three-quarters of the Hungarian population were Catholics. By 1991 Antall was receiving criticism for his authoritarian style, though this contrasted with his uncharismatic presence. Conflict over their powers erupted between him and Hungary's President, Árpád Göncz
Árpád Göncz
Árpád Göncz is a Hungarian liberal politician and former President of Hungary . Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956...
, who belonged to the opposing party, the Alliance of Free Democrats
Alliance of Free Democrats
The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party is a liberal party in Hungary, led since July 2010 by Viktor Szabadai . The SZDSZ is a member of the ELDR and of Liberal International...
.
Antall became ill with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and died on 12 December 1993, before the end of his 4-year term.
In recognition of his work, one of the buildings of the European Parliament in Brussels
Espace Léopold
The Espace Léopold or is the complex of parliament buildings in Brussels housing the European Parliament, a legislative chamber of the European Union ....
was named after him in 2008.