Not to be confused with the Hungarian economist and politician István Bethlen.
Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (8 October 1874, Gernyeszeg – 5 October 1946, Moscow) was a Hungarianaristocrat and statesman and served as prime minister from 1921 to 1931.
Bethlen was elected to the Hungarian parliament as a Liberal in 1901.[1] Later, he served as a representative of the new Hungarian government at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. In that year, the weak centrist Hungarian government collapsed, and was soon replaced by a communist Hungarian Soviet Republic, under the leadership of Béla Kun. Bethlen quickly returned to Hungary to assume leadership of the anti-communist "white" government based in Szeged, along with former Austro-Hungarian Navy admiral Miklós Horthy. After the "white" forces seized control of Hungary, Horthy was appointed Regent of Hungary. Bethlen again took a seat in the Hungarian parliament, allying with the conservative factions there.
After the attempted return of King Charles IV to the throne of Hungary in 1921, Horthy asked Bethlen to form a strong government to eliminate the possibility of other such threats to the new country. Bethlen founded the Party of National Unity. He was also able to unite the two most powerful factors in Hungarian society, the wealthy, primarily Jewish industrialists in Budapest and the old Magyar gentry in rural Hungary, into a lasting coalition; this effectively checked the rise of Fascism in the country for at least a decade. Bethlen was also able to reach an accord with the labor unions, earning their support for the government and eliminating a source of domestic dissent.
During the May 1926 trial of the Franc affair plotters Bethlen was called to testify over his involvement in it.[4] French Prime Minister Aristide Briand utilized the scandal by pushing for Bethlen's removal from power and his replacement by a more liberal politician.[5] The plot centered around the efforts of Hungarian nationalists to damage the French economy by disseminating forged 1,000 French franc banknotes. Several plotters provided incriminating evidence of Bethlen's involvement, however Bethlen managed to cover up his role by exercising direct control over the proceedings.[4][6][7] Facing considerable public pressure Bethlen offered his resignation to Horthy, who refused to accept it.[8] Bethlen subsequently shuffled his cabinet by replacing Interior Minister Iván Rakovszky.[6] The outcome of the trials in fact increased Bethlen's popularity in Hungary.[9]
Bethlen and the Hungarian delegation in the Hague
During his decade in office, Bethlen led Hungary into the League of Nations[10] and arranged a close alliance with Fascist Italy, even entering into a Treaty of Friendship with Italy in 1927, in order to further the nation's revisionist hopes.[11] He was, however, defeated in his attempts to change the Treaty of Trianon, which stripped Hungary of most of its territory after the First World War. The Great Depression shifted Hungarian politics to the extreme right, and Horthy replaced Bethlen with Count Gyula Károlyi de Nagykároly,[12] followed quickly by Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa, a noted fascist and antisemite.
Increasingly shunted into political obscurity, Bethlen stood out as one of the few voices in Hungary actively opposed to an alliance with Nazi Germany. As it became apparent that Germany was going to lose the Second World War, Bethlen attempted, unsuccessfully, to negotiate a separate peace with the Allied powers. By the spring of 1945 most of Hungary had fallen to the advancing Soviet troops. The communists, who returned with the Soviets, immediately began their scheme to take over the country. They saw the aging Bethlen as a threat, a man who could unite the political forces against them. For this they had him arrested by the Soviets in March 1945. Soon after, Bethlen was taken to Moscow,[13] where he died in prison on 5 October 1946.[14]
István Bethlen – Buda Castle
Personal life
On 27 Jun 1901, he married his distant cousin, the author Countess Margarete Bethlen de Bethlen (1882–1970). They had 3 sons:
Count András Bethlen de Bethlen (1902–1970) ⚭ Magda Viola (b.1901) ⚭ Eszter Mészáros (1892–1955) ⚭ Maria Palma 'Mizzi' Hoffmann (b.1906); no issue
Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (1904–1982) ⚭ Donna Maria Isabella dei Conti Parravicini (1912–2008); had issue
Count Gábor Bethlen de Bethlen (1906–1981) ⚭ Edith Schmidt (1909–1969); had issue
Cooley, John (2008). Currency Wars: How Forged Money is the New Weapon of Mass Destruction. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN978-1602392700.
Ignác Romsics: István Bethlen: A Great Conservative Statesman of Hungary, 1874–1946. East European Monographs. Columbia University Press, 1995.
Klay, Andor (1974). "Hungarian Counterfeit Francs: A Case of Post-World War I Political Sabotage". Slavic Review. 33 (1): 107–113. doi:10.2307/2495329. JSTOR 2495329.
Lendvai, Paul (2004). The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN978-0691119694.
Petruccelli, David (2016). "Banknotes from the Underground: Counterfeiting and the International Order in Interwar Europe". Journal of Contemporary History. 51 (3): 507–530. doi:10.1177/0022009415577003. S2CID 156881357.
Bethlen Istvan Emlekirata, 1944, Published in Hungarian/Magyar by Zrinyi Katonai Koenyvkiado, 1988.
Record of Margarete Bethlen de Bethlen's death certificate from the Magyar Főnemességi Adattár (Hungarian Database of the Aristocracy)
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istván, bethlen, confused, with, hungarian, economist, politician, count, bethlen, october, 1874, gernyeszeg, october, 1946, moscow, hungarian, aristocrat, statesman, served, prime, minister, from, 1921, 1931, countde, bethlenprime, minister, hungaryin, office. Not to be confused with the Hungarian economist and politician Istvan Bethlen Count Istvan Bethlen de Bethlen 8 October 1874 Gernyeszeg 5 October 1946 Moscow was a Hungarian aristocrat and statesman and served as prime minister from 1921 to 1931 CountIstvan Bethlende BethlenPrime Minister of HungaryIn office 14 April 1921 24 August 1931RegentMiklos HorthyPreceded byPal TelekiSucceeded byGyula KarolyiMember of the House of RepresentativesIn office 31 October 1901 16 November 1918In office 18 February 1920 2 February 1939Personal detailsBorn 1874 10 08 8 October 1874Gernyeszeg Kingdom of Hungary now Gornești Romania Died5 October 1946 1946 10 05 aged 71 Moscow Soviet Union now Russian Federation Political partyLiberal Party 1901 1903 Party of Independence and 48 1904 1913 National Constitution Party 1913 1918 Christian National Union Party 1919 1922 Unity Party 1922 1935 SpouseCountess Margit Bethlen de BethlenChildrenAndras Istvan GaborProfessionPolitician juristThe native form of this personal name is bethleni grof Bethlen Istvan This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditThe scion of an old Bethlen de Bethlen noble family from Transylvania he was the only son of Count Istvan Bethlen de Bethlen 1831 1881 and Countess Ilona Teleki de Szek 1849 1914 He had two elder sisters Countess Klementine Mikes de Zabola 1871 1954 and Countess Ilona Haller de Hallerkeo 1872 1924 Career EditBethlen was elected to the Hungarian parliament as a Liberal in 1901 1 Later he served as a representative of the new Hungarian government at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 In that year the weak centrist Hungarian government collapsed and was soon replaced by a communist Hungarian Soviet Republic under the leadership of Bela Kun Bethlen quickly returned to Hungary to assume leadership of the anti communist white government based in Szeged along with former Austro Hungarian Navy admiral Miklos Horthy After the white forces seized control of Hungary Horthy was appointed Regent of Hungary Bethlen again took a seat in the Hungarian parliament allying with the conservative factions there In 1919 Bethlen rejected a personal union between Romania and Hungary under the King of Romania 2 3 After the attempted return of King Charles IV to the throne of Hungary in 1921 Horthy asked Bethlen to form a strong government to eliminate the possibility of other such threats to the new country Bethlen founded the Party of National Unity He was also able to unite the two most powerful factors in Hungarian society the wealthy primarily Jewish industrialists in Budapest and the old Magyar gentry in rural Hungary into a lasting coalition this effectively checked the rise of Fascism in the country for at least a decade Bethlen was also able to reach an accord with the labor unions earning their support for the government and eliminating a source of domestic dissent During the May 1926 trial of the Franc affair plotters Bethlen was called to testify over his involvement in it 4 French Prime Minister Aristide Briand utilized the scandal by pushing for Bethlen s removal from power and his replacement by a more liberal politician 5 The plot centered around the efforts of Hungarian nationalists to damage the French economy by disseminating forged 1 000 French franc banknotes Several plotters provided incriminating evidence of Bethlen s involvement however Bethlen managed to cover up his role by exercising direct control over the proceedings 4 6 7 Facing considerable public pressure Bethlen offered his resignation to Horthy who refused to accept it 8 Bethlen subsequently shuffled his cabinet by replacing Interior Minister Ivan Rakovszky 6 The outcome of the trials in fact increased Bethlen s popularity in Hungary 9 Bethlen and the Hungarian delegation in the Hague During his decade in office Bethlen led Hungary into the League of Nations 10 and arranged a close alliance with Fascist Italy even entering into a Treaty of Friendship with Italy in 1927 in order to further the nation s revisionist hopes 11 He was however defeated in his attempts to change the Treaty of Trianon which stripped Hungary of most of its territory after the First World War The Great Depression shifted Hungarian politics to the extreme right and Horthy replaced Bethlen with Count Gyula Karolyi de Nagykaroly 12 followed quickly by Gyula Gombos de Jakfa a noted fascist and antisemite Increasingly shunted into political obscurity Bethlen stood out as one of the few voices in Hungary actively opposed to an alliance with Nazi Germany As it became apparent that Germany was going to lose the Second World War Bethlen attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate a separate peace with the Allied powers By the spring of 1945 most of Hungary had fallen to the advancing Soviet troops The communists who returned with the Soviets immediately began their scheme to take over the country They saw the aging Bethlen as a threat a man who could unite the political forces against them For this they had him arrested by the Soviets in March 1945 Soon after Bethlen was taken to Moscow 13 where he died in prison on 5 October 1946 14 Istvan Bethlen Buda CastlePersonal life EditOn 27 Jun 1901 he married his distant cousin the author Countess Margarete Bethlen de Bethlen 1882 1970 They had 3 sons Count Andras Bethlen de Bethlen 1902 1970 Magda Viola b 1901 Eszter Meszaros 1892 1955 Maria Palma Mizzi Hoffmann b 1906 no issue Count Istvan Bethlen de Bethlen 1904 1982 Donna Maria Isabella dei Conti Parravicini 1912 2008 had issue Count Gabor Bethlen de Bethlen 1906 1981 Edith Schmidt 1909 1969 had issueNotes Edit Romsics pp 25 26 Ignac Romsics Social Science Monographs 1995 Istvan Bethlen a great conservative statesman of Hungary 1874 1946 p 111 Memento 1917 Igy nem lett perszonalunio Romaniaval 25 October 2017 a b Petruccelli 2016 pp 519 520 525 Petruccelli 2016 pp 519 520 a b Klay 1974 pp 111 112 Cooley 2008 p 185 Lendvai 2004 p 398 Petruccelli 2016 p 522 Romsics p 169 Romsics p 225 Romsics p 298 Romsics p 386 Romsics p 388 References EditCooley John 2008 Currency Wars How Forged Money is the New Weapon of Mass Destruction New York Skyhorse Publishing ISBN 978 1602392700 Ignac Romsics Istvan Bethlen A Great Conservative Statesman of Hungary 1874 1946 East European Monographs Columbia University Press 1995 Klay Andor 1974 Hungarian Counterfeit Francs A Case of Post World War I Political Sabotage Slavic Review 33 1 107 113 doi 10 2307 2495329 JSTOR 2495329 Lendvai Paul 2004 The Hungarians A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat Princeton Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0691119694 Petruccelli David 2016 Banknotes from the Underground Counterfeiting and the International Order in Interwar Europe Journal of Contemporary History 51 3 507 530 doi 10 1177 0022009415577003 S2CID 156881357 Bethlen Istvan Emlekirata 1944 Published in Hungarian Magyar by Zrinyi Katonai Koenyvkiado 1988 Record of Margarete Bethlen de Bethlen s death certificate from the Magyar Fonemessegi Adattar Hungarian Database of the Aristocracy External links EditNewspaper clippings about Istvan Bethlen in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBWPolitical officesPreceded byPal Teleki Prime Minister of Hungary1921 1931 Succeeded byGyula KarolyiPreceded byLajos Hegyeshalmi Minister of FinanceActing1921 Succeeded byTibor KallayPreceded byEmil Nagy Minister of JusticeActing1924 Succeeded byPal PesthyPreceded byGeza Daruvary Minister of Foreign AffairsActing1924 Succeeded byTibor ScitovszkyPreceded byIstvan Szabo de Nagyatad Minister of AgricultureActing1924 Succeeded byJanos MayerPreceded byPal Pesthy Minister of JusticeActing1929 Succeeded byTibor Zsitvay This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Hungarian December 2012 Click show for important translation instructions View a machine translated version of the Hungarian article Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 558 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Hungarian Wikipedia article at hu Bethlen Istvan politikus see its history for attribution You should also add the template Translated hu Bethlen Istvan politikus to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Istvan Bethlen amp oldid 1131047816, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
