Introduction

József Ántáll served as Prime Minister of Hungary between 1990–93, following the fall of the communist regime. He did not become active on the political scene until the late 1980s, when anti-communist reform movements grew throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Having become President of the fledgling Hungarian Democratic Forum in 1989, a year later he became the country’s first democratically elected leader for over 40 years.

Early Life

Ántáll was born on 8 April 1932 in Budapest. His father, also called József, gained recognition for his work as a government commissioner for refugees during World War II, and was credited with ensuring the survival of large numbers of Jews. The son obtained a degree in Humanities and Political Science in Budapest, and then worked as a librarian, historian and teacher. At the time of the 1956 uprising he was the chairman of a revolutionary committee and the following year he was arrested for his political activities and banned from teaching or publishing any material for the following 6 years.

Ántáll played little part on the Hungarian political scene in the ensuing decades. However, by the 1980s the regime of János Kádár was in decline and a drive towards reform was underway. A new party, the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), was established in 1988 and advocated a course of nationalist conservatism. Ántáll became Chairman of the MDF in 1989 and in March of the following year led them to a comprehensive election victory, taking 43% of the vote. They were, however, unable to form a majority government and so Ántáll led a coalition that also included the Christian Democratic Peoples’ Party and the Independent Smallholders’ Party.

Career Peak

The government was thus right of centre. Under Ántáll’s guidance it set about developing the market economy and instigated a major privatization programme. The MDF’s vocal far right nationalist wing soon alienated many voters and the party suffered heavy losses at local elections after a few months, The party’s economic policies were also difficult, with inflation, unemployment (up from 1.5% to 12.0% in the period 1990–93) and crime all rising sharply in the early 1990s. The broader achievements of Ántáll’s tenure concern the establishment of institutions and structures necessary for a functioning democracy. He also controversially re-established the teaching of Roman Catholicism into the national curriculum, oversaw the phased removal of Soviet troops from Hungarian territory and pursued closer relations with the West.

He was soon criticized for his domineering style of leadership and he had a difficult relationship with the President, Árpád Göncz, of the rival Alliance of Free Democrats. However, he retained his role as MDF chairman in early 1993. Ántáll had been diagnosed as suffering from cancer in 1990 and on 12 Dec. 1993, while he was in Budapest, it took his life. He was succeeded by Peter Boross.