The Christian Women's League (, KNT) was a political party in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

in the period after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

The party was founded in 1918 as a Catholic Social movement. It was initially led by

Margit Slachta Margit Slachta (or ''Schlachta'', September 18, 1884 – January 6, 1974) was a Hungarian nun, social activist, politician, and member of parliament of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1920 she was the first woman to be elected to the Diet of Hungary ...

, who became the first woman elected to the Hungarian Parliament in 1920 as a representative of the

Christian National Union Party The Christian National Union Party (, KNEP) was a political party in Hungary during the early 1920s. History The KNEP was established by in October 1919 as the Christian National League, and was based on the pre-war Christian Party.Vincent E McH ...

.Francisca de Haan, Krasimira Daskalova, Anna Loutfi (2006) ''Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe: 19th and 20th Centuries'', Central European University Press, p522 Slachta lost her seat in the

1922 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1922. Africa * 1922 Southern Rhodesian government referendum Asia * 1922 Philippine House of Representatives elections * 1922 Philippine Senate elections * 1922 Philippine legislative election Europe ...

after she was prevented from running again. She returned to Parliament following the 1945 elections, in which she was elected on the Civic Democratic Party list. However, she resigned from the party in January 1946 to sit as an independent.Mária Palasik (2011) ''Chess Game for Democracy: Hungary Between East and West, 1944-1947'', McGill-Queen's Press, p39 Subsequently the Christian Women's League ran as a standalone party in the 1947 elections, winning four seats.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p931 Prior to the

1949 elections Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

, several parties were forced to join the Communist-led Hungarian Independent People's Front, with the Front running a single list chosen by the

Hungarian Working People's Party The Hungarian Working People's Party (, , abbr. MDP) was the ruling communist party of Hungary from 1948 to 1956. It was formed by a merger of the Hungarian Communist Party (MKP) and the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP).Neubauer, Joh ...

. Slachta applied to run in the elections, but was turned down.

References

{{Hungarian political parties Defunct political parties in Hungary Feminism in Hungary Women's organisations based in Hungary