The Statute XIX of 1937 regarding establishing of a National Council when the Regent seat is vacant was a 1937 law of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. The National Council (''Országtanács'') would be an interim collective head of state.

Members of the National Council

* Prime Minister of Hungary * Speaker of the House of Magnates * Speaker of the House of Representatives *

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

* President of the Curia Regia (''"Supreme Court"'') * President of the Administrative Court * Supreme Commander of the Hungarian Royal Army

Background

The National Council was instituted because of Regent Miklós Horthy's old age and illness. The situation was further complicated as the position of Regent was inherently temporary under constitutional law and thus there was no provision for its vacancy. The transfer of the function, the issues of succession, inheritance, and surface have brought the matter on behalf of the legitimists the accusation of dynasty-founding. After the Arrow Cross Party's coup and the resignation of Horthy on October 16, 1944

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' ...

was appointed "Leader of the Nation". He established a Regent Council of three members, all from the Hungarian Nazi party. After the Soviet occupation of Hungary a

High National Council The High National Council ( hu, Nemzeti Főtanács) was the collective head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1945 until 1946. Members of the First High National Council (January 26, 1945–December 7, 1945) Parties Members of the Se ...

formed in 1945 which was the collective head of state until the declaration of the

Second Hungarian Republic The Second Hungarian Republic ( hu, Második Magyar Köztársaság) was a parliamentary republic briefly established after the disestablishment of the Kingdom of Hungary on 1 February 1946 and was itself dissolved on 20 August 1949. It was succe ...

. Members of the first High National Council were Béla Zsedényi (Speaker of the Interim National Assembly),

Béla Miklós Béla Miklós de Dálnok, Vitéz of Dálnok (11 June 1890 – 21 November 1948) was a Hungarian military officer and politician who served as acting Prime Minister of Hungary, at first in opposition, and then officially, from 1944 to 1945. He ...

(Prime Minister) and Ernő Gerő (from the Hungarian Communist Party, later replaced by

József Révai József Révai (born József Lederer'';'' 12 October 1898 in Budapest – 4 August 1959 in Budapest) was a Hungarian communist politician, statesman and cultural ideologue. Life and career Révai was born to a Jewish family.Anne Applebaum, Ir ...

, then by Mátyás Rákosi). But the real power was in the hands of the

Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern ...

, led by Kliment Voroshilov.

References

* GERGELY, Jenő - IZSÁK, Lajos: A huszadik század története. Pannonica Kiadó, 2000. (Magyar századok) Legal history of Hungary {{Statute-stub