Hungary–United States Relations
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According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 38% of
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
approve of U.S. leadership, with 20% disapproving and 42% uncertain, a decrease from 53% approval in 2011. According to a 2018 poll, 68% of
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
view the United States favorably.


History

Until 1867 the Kingdom of Hungary was a part of the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
and from 1867 to 1918 of the
dual monarchy Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically used ...
of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. United States
diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
with Hungary were conducted through the
United States Ambassador to Austria This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Austria. The United States first established diplomatic relations with Austria in 1838 during the time of the Austrian Empire. Relations between the United States have been continuous since t ...
in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I, Hungary and the United States established bilateral relations through a
legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...
in Budapest established in 1921. The first American ambassador to Hungary (
Theodore Brentano Theodore Brentano (March 29, 1854 – July 2, 1940) was an American attorney and judge and the first U.S. ambassador to Hungary (his full title was ''Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''). He was appointed to the position by Warren ...
) was appointed on February 10, 1922. Diplomatic relations were interrupted during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Hungary severed relations with the U.S. on December 11, 1941, when the United States
declared war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, i ...
on Germany. Two days later, on December 13, Hungary declared war on the United States. On June 5, 1942, the United States declared war on Hungary. The US declared war on
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
the same day. The declaration of war passed both houses of
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
unanimously, by votes of 361–0 in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
and 73–0 in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. Normal bilateral relations between Hungary and the U.S. were resumed in December 1945 when a U.S. ambassador was appointed and the embassy was reopened. Relations between the United States and Hungary following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
were affected by the Soviet armed forces' occupation of Hungary. Full diplomatic relations were established at the legation level on October 12, 1945, before the signing of the Hungarian peace treaty on February 10, 1947. After the communist takeover in 1947–48, relations with the
People's Republic of Hungary The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet Uni ...
became increasingly strained by the nationalization of U.S.-owned property and what the United States considered unacceptable treatment of U.S.
citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
s and personnel, as well as restrictions on the operations of the American legation. Though relations deteriorated further after the suppression of the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
, an exchange of
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
s in 1966 inaugurated an era of improving relations. In 1972, a consular convention was concluded to provide consular protection to U.S. citizens in Hungary. In 1973, a bilateral agreement was reached under which
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
settled the nationalization claims of American citizens. On 6 January 1978, the United States returned the
Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the ...
, which had been safeguarded by the United States since the end of World War II. Symbolically and actually, this event marked the beginning of excellent relations between the two countries. A 1978 bilateral trade agreement included extension of most-favored-nation status to Hungary. Cultural and scientific exchanges were expanded. As Hungary began to pull away from the Soviet orbit, the United States offered assistance and expertise to help establish a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
, a democratic political system, and a plan for a
free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
economy. Between 1989 and 1993, the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act provided more than $136 million for economic restructuring and private-sector development. The Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund has offered
loans In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...
, equity capital, and technical assistance to promote private-sector development. The U.S. Government has provided expert and financial assistance for the development of modern and Western institutions in many policy areas, including national security,
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
, free media, environmental regulations, education, and
health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
. American direct investment has had a direct, positive impact on the Hungarian economy and on continued good bilateral relations. When Hungary acceded to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in April 1999, it became a formal ally of the United States. This move has been consistently supported by the 1.5 million-strong Hungarian-American community. The U.S. government supported Hungarian accession to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
in 2004, and continues to work with
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
as a valued partner in the Transatlantic relationship. Hungary joined the
Visa Waiver Program The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States federal government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. It ...
in 2008.


High-level mutual visits


Resident diplomatic missions

;of Hungary in the United States * Embassy (1):
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
* Consulate General (3):
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
* Vice-Consulates (2):
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
* Honorary Consulate General (1):
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
* Consulate Honorary (16):
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Hampden,
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, Mayagüez,
Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...
,
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
,
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, St. Louis Park,
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
,
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
;of the United States in Hungary * Embassy (1):
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
File:Embassy of Hungary.jpg, Embassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C. File:Hungary Consulate E52 jeh.jpg, Consulate-General of Hungary in New York City File:Budapest U.S. embassy.JPG, Embassy of the United States in Budapest


Sister-Twinning cities


See also

*
Hungarian Americans Hungarian Americans ( Hungarian: ''amerikai magyarok'') are Americans of Hungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people wit ...
*
Hungarian Ambassador to the United States The Hungarian ambassador in Washington, D. C. is the official representative of the Government in Budapest to the Government of the United States. *Till 1920 he was listed as Austria-Hungary List of representatives '' Chief of Protocol''ht ...
*
United States Ambassador to Hungary This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary. Until 1867 Hungary had been part of the Austrian Empire, when the empire became Austria-Hungary. Hungary had no separate diplomatic relations with other nations. The United States had ...
*
Foreign relations of the United States The United States has formal diplomatic relations with most nations. This includes all UN member and observer states other than Bhutan, Iran, North Korea and Syria, and the UN observer State of Palestine, the last of which the U.S. does not rec ...
*
Foreign relations of Hungary Hungary wields considerable influence in Central and Eastern Europe and is a middle power in international affairs.Solomon S (1997South African Foreign Policy and Middle Power Leadership, ''ISS'' The foreign policy of Hungary is based on four basi ...


References


Further reading

* Bártfai, Imre, "Hungary & the U.S.: Will there be a New Direction for American Diplomacy?", ''IndraStra Global'' (2017) 3, ISSN 2381-365
online
* Borhi, László. "The United States and Hungary, 1956–1990." in ''Human Rights and Political Dissent in Central Europe'' (Routledge, 2021) pp. 187-201. * Frank, Tibor. ''Ethnicity, Propaganda, Myth-Making: Studies in Hungarian Connections to Britain and America, 1848–1945'' (Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1999). **Frank, Tibor. "Friend or foe? The changing image of Hungary in the United-States." ''Hungarian Quarterly'' 38.148 (1997): 116-124. * Frank, Tibor. ''Double Exile: Migration of Jewish-Hungarian Professionals Through Germany to the United States, 1919-1945'' (2009) * Frank, Tibor. ''Genius in Exile: Professional Immigration from Interwar Hungary to the United States'' (2006). * Glant, Tibor, "Ninety Years of United States-Hungarian Relations," ''Eger Journal of American Studies'', 13 (2012), 163–83. * Glant, Tibor, "The Myth and History of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points in Hungary," ''Eger Journal of American Studies'' (Eger), 12 (2010), 301–22. * Glant, Tibor, "Herbert Hoover and Hungary, 1918-1923" ''Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS)'' 8#2 (2002), pp. 95–10
online
* Horcicka, Václav, "Austria-Hungary, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, and the United States' Entrance into the First World War," ''International History Review'' (Burnaby), 34 (June 2012), 245–69. * Kurucz, Milan. "Hungary-United States Relations under Obama and Trump Administration." ''Politické vedy'' 23.2 (2020): 98-113. * Lévai, Csaba, "Henry Clay and Lajos Kossuth's Visit in the United States, 1851–1852," ''Eger Journal of American Studies'' (Eger), 13 (2012), pp 219–41. *Pastor, Peter. ''Hungary between Wilson and Lenin: The Hungarian Revolution of 1918-1919 and the Big Three'' (1976) * Peterecz, Zoltán. "Royall Tyler in Hungary: An American of the League of Nations and Hungarian Reconstruction Efforts, 1924–1938." ''Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies'' 27.1 (2021
online
* Peterecz, Zoltán, "'A Certain Amount of Tactful Undermining': Herbert C. Pell and Hungary in 1941," ''The Hungarian Quarterly'' (Budapest), 52 (Spring–Summer 2011), pp 124–37. *Peterecz, Zoltán, "American Foreign Policy and American Financial Controllers in Europe in the 1920s," ''Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies'' (Debrecen), 18 (2012), pp 457–85. * Peterecz, Zoltán, "Money Has No Smell: Anti-Semitism in Hungary and the Anglo-Saxon World, and the Launching of the International Reconstruction Loan for Hungary in 1924," ''Eger Journal of American Studies'' (Eger), 13 (2012), pp 273–90. * Peterecz, Zoltán, "The Fight for a Yankee over Here: Attempts to Secure an American for an Official League of Nations Post in the Postwar Central European Financial Reconstruction Era of the 1920s," ''Eger Journal of American Studies'' (Eger), 12 (2010), pp 465–88. * Puskas, Julianna. ''Ties That Bind, Ties That Divide. One Hundred Years of Hungarian Experience in the United States'' (Holmes and Meier, 2000), 465 pp. * Romsics, Ignác, ed. ''Twentieth Century Hungary and the Great Powers'' (Boulder: East European Monographs, 1996). * * Várdy, Steven Béla, and Thomas Szendrey. "Hungarian Americans." ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 373–386
Online
*Várdy, Steven Béla and Agnes Huszar Vardy, eds. ''Hungarian Americans in the Current of History'' (2010), essays by scholars
online review
* Vida, István Kornél. ''Hungarian Émigrés in the American Civil War: A History and Biographical Dictionary'' (McFarland, 2012) 256 pp. * Zsolt, Péter, Tamás Tóth, and Márton Demeter. "We are the ones who matter! Pro and anti-Trumpists’ attitudes in Hungary." ''Journal of Contemporary European Studies'' (2021): 1-1
online


Cold War 1945-1989

* Bischof, Günter. "United States Responses to the Soviet Suppression of Rebellions in the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia." ''Diplomacy & Statecraft'' 22.1 (2011): 61-80. * Borhi, László. "Rollback, Liberation, Containment, or Inaction? U.S. Policy and Eastern Europe in the 1950s." ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' 1.3 (1999): 67-110
online
* Borhi, László. "From the Prehistory of the Cold War (Hungary and the United States 1944–49)." ''Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'' 35.1/4 (1989): 217-249
online
* Borhi, László. "‘We Hungarian communists are realists’: János Kádár's foreign policy in the light of Hungarian–US relations, 1957–67." ''Cold War History'' 4.2 (2004): 1-32. * Borhi, László. "In the Power Arena: U.S.-Hungarian Relations, 1942–1989," ''The Hungarian Quarterly'' (Budapest), 51 (Summer 2010), pp 67–81. * Borhi, László. "Dealing with dictatorship: The US and Hungary during the early kádár years." ''Hungarian Studies'' 27.1 (2013): 15-66
online
* Borhi, László. ''Hungary in the Cold War, 1945-1956: Between the United States and the Soviet Union'' (2004
online
* Gati, Charles. ''Hungary and the Soviet Bloc'' (Duke University Press, 1986). * Glant, Tibor. ''Remember Hungary 1956: Essays on the Hungarian Revolution and Wars of Independence in American Memory'' (2007
online review
* Granville, Johanna. "Radio Free Europe’s Impact on the Kremlin in the Hungarian Crisis of 1956: Three Hypotheses." ''Canadian Journal of History'' 39.3 (2004): 515-546. * Holloway, David, and Victor McFarland. "The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 in the Context of the Cold War Military Confrontation." ''Hungarian Studies'' 20.1 (2006): 31-49
online
* Jarvis, Eric. "The Creation of a Controversial Anti‐Communist Martyr in Early Cold War America: Reactions to the Arrest and Show Trial of Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty of Hungary, 1948–1949." ''Historian'' 78.2 (2016): 277-308. * Max, Stanley. ''The Anglo-American Response to the Sovietization of Hungary, 1945– 1948'' (Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1990). * Radvanyi, Janos. ''Hungary and the Superpowers, The 1956 Revolution and Realpolitik'' (Stanford University Press, 1972). * Webb, Alban. "Cold War Radio and the Hungarian Uprising, 1956." ''Cold War History'' 13.2 (2013): 221-238.


External links


History of Hungary - U.S. relations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungary-United States relations Bilateral relations of the United States
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...