György Ekrem-Kemál (29 June 1945 – 12 June 2009) was a Hungarian

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

, " Hungarist",

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and leader of several organizations associated with

Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

Life

Ekrem-Kemál was born to a Turkish-Hungarian father and a Hungarian mother. His father, Ekrem Kemál, was a prominent figure in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution as a "Széna tér" revolutionary against

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces. He was executed for his role in the uprising, and is widely considered a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

amongst the Hungarian

. György Ekrem-Kemál died on June 12, 2009 after a long battle with lung cancer.

Political Activities

On 20 April 1994 (

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

's birthday), Ekrem-Kemál, already a well-known figure in Hungarian far-right circles (mostly due to his father), co-founded the Hungarian Hungarist Movement ( hu, Magyar Hungarista Mozgalom, MHM) alongside István Győrkös and Albert Szabó. It was a largely unsuccessful attempt to unify the Hungarian far-right under the umbrella of Hungarism, a historical ideological tenet of the

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party ( hu, Nyilaskeresztes Párt – Hungarista Mozgalom, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National ...

, the defunct

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

party that ruled Hungary briefly in 1944 and early 1945. The MHM failed to be cohesive, and, by 1996, the movement had largely scattered due to internal disputes. Ekrem Kemal Budapest protest 2006

In 1996, Ekrem-Kemál founded the Association of Those Persecuted by Communism ( hu, Kommunizmus Üldözötteinek Szövetsége, KÜSZ), a small organization established with the objective of overthrowing the relatively new parliamentary government. The KÜSZ claimed it would undertake these actions in order to continue the legacy of the Arrow Cross Party. Ekrem-Kemál was also at one point the leader of the Hungarian National Freedom Party ( hu, Magyar Nemzeti Szabadság Párt, MNSZP), another

organization. Ekrem-Kemál was arrested in 1997 following his connection

pipe bomb A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device which uses a tightly sealed section of pipe (material), pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple Explosive material#Low explosives, low explosi ...

attacks on the offices of the then ruling Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). He was found guilty in May 2001 for attempting to organize a coup d'état against the Hungarian constitutional order. The Hungarian Supreme Court reduced his sentence to 4 years of probation on the basis of his movement having a "very long shot" to achieve its goal.Enyhítették Ekrem Kemál büntetését
,

Népszabadság ''Népszabadság'' (; means "Liberty of the People") was a major Hungarian newspaper which was formerly the official press organ of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party during the Hungarian People's Republic. History and profile ''Népsza ...

, 2001-05-25 Ekrem-Kemál returned to prominence in 2006 during the

2006 protests in Hungary The 2006 protests in Hungary were a series of anti-government protests triggered by the release of Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány's private speech in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 200 ...

against the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). He joined the Revolutionary National Committee and spoke publicly at the protests in Kossuth Square, calling for the protesters (known as the Kossuth tér protesters) to mobilize against the existing government order. The protesters made frequent allusions to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, further connecting Ekrem-Kemál, the son of a revolutionary "martyr", to the action.

Ideology

Ekrem-Kemál's ideology was guided chiefly by " Hungarism", which traces itself back to the Arrow Cross Party and its leader,

Ferenc Szálasi Ferenc Szálasi (; 6 January 1897 – 12 March 1946), the leader of the Arrow Cross Party – Hungarist Movement, became the "Leader of the Nation" (''Nemzetvezető'') as head of state and simultaneously prime minister of the Kingdom of Hungary' ...

. Hungarism is a

ideology characterized by a unique conception of racial superiority (advantageous to Ekrem-Kemál) and a conventional fascist grounding in

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekrem-Kemal, Gyorgy 1945 births 2009 deaths Deaths from cancer in Hungary Deaths from lung cancer Hungarian nationalists Hungarian people of Turkish descent Hungarian politicians