Hungarian Working People's Party

The Hungarian Working People's Party (Hungarian: Magyar Dolgozók Pártja, pronounced [ˈmɒɟɒr ˈdolɡozoːk ˈpaːrcɒ], abbr. MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956.

Hungarian Working People's Party Magyar Dolgozók Pártja
First leader	Mátyás Rákosi
Last leader	János Kádár
Founded	12 June 1948
Dissolved	31 October 1956
Merger of	MKP MSZDP
Succeeded by	MSZMP
Newspaper	Szabad Nép
Youth wing	Union of Working Youth
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Leninism Stalinism
Political position	Far-left
National affiliation	Patriotic People's Front
International affiliation	Cominform (1948–1956)
Party flag
Politics of Hungary Political parties Elections

It was formed by a merger of the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) and the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP).^[1] Ostensibly a union of equals, the merger had actually occurred as a result of massive pressure brought to bear on the Social Democrats by both the Hungarian Communists, as well as the Soviet Union. The few independent-minded Social Democrats who had not been sidelined by Communist salami tactics were pushed out in short order after the merger, leaving the party as essentially the MKP under a new name.

Other minor legal Hungarian political parties were allowed to continue as independent coalition parties until late 1949 but were completely subservient to the MDP.

Its leader was Mátyás Rákosi until 1956, then Ernő Gerő in the same year for three months, and eventually János Kádár until the party's dissolution.

During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the party was reorganized into the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP) by a circle of communists around Kádár and Imre Nagy. The new government of Nagy declared to assess the uprising not as counter-revolutionary but as a "great, national and democratic event" and to dissolve State Security Police (ÁVH). Hungary's declaration to become neutral and to exit the Warsaw Pact caused the second Soviet intervention on 4 November 1956. After 8 November 1956, the MSZMP, under Kádár's leadership, fully supported the Soviet Union.

Unification congress poster

Leaders of the Hungarian Working People's Party

General/First Secretaries

No.	Picture	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of Office		Position(s)
1		Mátyás Rákosi (1892–1971)	12 June 1948	18 July 1956	General Secretary
					First Secretary (from 28 June 1953)
2		Ernő Gerő (1898–1980)	18 July 1956	25 October 1956
3		János Kádár (1912–1989)	25 October 1956	31 October 1956

Chairman

No.	Picture	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of Office		Notes
1		Árpád Szakasits (1888–1965)	12 June 1948	24 April 1950	Also President (1948–1949) and Chairman of the Presidential Council (1949–1950)

Electoral history

National Assembly elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1949	Mátyás Rákosi	as part of Patriotic People's Front		285 / 402	285	1st	In government
1953				206 / 298	79	1st	Sole legal party

See also

• History of Hungary
• Politics of Hungary
• List of political parties in Hungary
• Eastern Bloc politics