Ferenc Münnich

Ferenc Münnich (Hungarian: [ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈmynnih]; 18 November 1886 – 29 November 1967) was a Hungarian Communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary from 1958 to 1961.

Ferenc Münnich
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary
In office 28 January 1958 – 13 September 1961
Preceded by	János Kádár
Succeeded by	János Kádár
Minister of Defence
In office 12 November 1956 – 1 March 1957
Prime Minister	János Kádár
Preceded by	Pál Maléter
Succeeded by	Géza Révész
Minister of the Interior
In office 27 October 1956 – 3 November 1956
Prime Minister	Imre Nagy
Preceded by	László Piros
Succeeded by	Béla Biszku
Personal details
Born	(1886-11-18)18 November 1886 Seregélyes, Austria-Hungary
Died	29 November 1967(1967-11-29) (aged 81) Budapest, Hungary
Nationality	Hungarian
Political party	Hungarian Communist Party, Hungarian Working People's Party, Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party

The native form of this personal name is Münnich Ferenc. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army in World War I, and fought in the Eastern front. He was captured in 1915, then deported to a lager in Tomsk, Siberia. In 1918, he was freed and returned to Hungary. He participated in the government of the 1919 Hungarian Soviet Republic.

He fought in the Spanish Civil War and was commissar of Rakosi Battalion of XIII International Brigade.[1]

He joined the Hungarian Communist Party in October 1945. After World War II, he returned from exile and became a chief police superintendent of Budapest. In 1956 Hungarian Revolution, first he was officially part of the Imre Nagy government, serving as interior minister from 27 to 31 October, then fled to Soviet Union. He returned with János Kádár on 4 November 1956, serving as interior minister and defence minister in the "Revolutionary Worker-Peasant Government," holding these positions until 1 March 1957. A couple of months later, he organized the Worker's Militia. In 1965 and 1967, he was decorated with the Lenin award of the Soviet Union.

References

1. Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War, 4th Rev. Ed. 2001, p 927

Political offices
Preceded by László Piros	Minister of the Interior 1956	Succeeded by Béla Biszku
Preceded by Pál Maléter	Minister of Defence 1956–1957	Succeeded by Géza Révész
Preceded by János Kádár	Prime Minister of Hungary 1958–1961	Succeeded by János Kádár