Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa (26 December 1886 – 6 October 1936) was a Hungarian military officer and politician who served as

Prime Minister of Hungary The prime minister of Hungary () is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the government of Hungary, Cabinet are collectively accountability, accountable for their policies and actions to the National Assembly (Hungary), Par ...

from 1 October 1932 to his death.

Background

Gömbös was born in Murga, Tolna County, Kingdom of Hungary, which had a mixed Hungarian and

ethnic German Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...

population. He was the son of Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa (1858–1921), a member of untitled

Hungarian nobility The Kingdom of Hungary held a Nobility, noble class of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, from the 11th century until the mid-20th century. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the lat ...

and Maria Weitzel (b.1867). His father was the village

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

. The family belonged to the Hungarian Evangelical (i. e. Lutheran) Church. Gömbös entered the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

as a cadet in

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...

and quickly became a member of the officer corps, serving as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In the army, Gömbös became a staunch advocate of Hungary's gaining independence from

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and a bitter critic of the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. After World War I ended, and Hungary split from Austria, Gömbös joined conservative Hungarian forces in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

that were unwilling to support the communist

Béla Kun Béla Kun (, born Béla Kohn; 20 February 1886 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and politician who in 1919 governed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. After attending Franz Joseph University at Kolozsvár (today Cluj-N ...

, who had seized control of Hungary in 1919. Gömbös formed his own

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

group, the Hungarian National Defence Association (''Magyar Országos Véderő Egylet'', or MOVE). Gömbös became a close ally of

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...

, the leader of the anticommunist government in Szeged, and played a leading role in organizing Horthy’s army. For his services, Gömbös was made minister of defence in the Szeged government. After the Hungarian communist government had been ousted in August 1919, Gömbös helped direct the

purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an ...

of communists from Hungarian society. Gömbös also supported certain political actions against Hungary's Jews.

Rightward

Gömbös had been a

Smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

before the war but veered sharply to the right in the upheaval following the breakup of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. After

was made regent of Hungary in 1920, Gömbös became the primary leader of Hungary’s emerging nationalist movement, which was gaining some support from the people in response to the brief period of communist rule and the signing of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

, which had resulted in Hungary losing two thirds of its territory to neighboring nations. Despite some disagreements with Horthy, Gömbös was active in the widespread purge of Hungarian communists and later organized mass military opposition to the plan of the former Habsburg King, Charles IV, to regain his throne in 1921, a move that kept Horthy firmly in control of Hungary. Later that year, Gömbös became one of the primary leaders of the opposition to Prime Minister

István Bethlen Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (8 October 1874 – 5 October 1946) was a Hungarians, Hungarian Aristocracy (class), aristocrat and politician, statesman and served as prime minister from 1921 to 1931. Early life The scion of an old Bethlen ...

. In 1929, Gömbös was made a major general and was appointed Minister of Defense in the Bethlen government by Horthy.

Prime minister

In 1932, Horthy appointed Gömbös prime minister; Gömbös, in turn, acceded to Horthy's urging not to seek new elections. Upon taking office, Gömbös publicly recanted his previous antipathy to Jews. The country's Jewish political leadership, under Béla Szántó, supported the appointment of Gömbös and his programs in exchange for Gömbös promising not to enact any racially-motivated laws and not to cause economic harm to the Jews through his general policies. Gömbös kept those promises. GyulaGombosByTiborPolya

As prime minister, Gömbös was very active in international affairs by seeking support for revising the Treaty of Trianon and pursuing trade deals aimed at reviving the Depression-afflicted economy. One of his major goals was to align Hungary into an Axis with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

. In 1933, Gömbös flew to Italy and visited

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. Mussolini conveyed to Gömbös his approval regarding the revision of the Treaty of Trianon. Also, Mussolini promised Gömbös Italy’s aid if Hungary went to war with

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in an attempt to regain Hungary’s former territory from those nations. Gömbös also formed, with rather greater reluctance, an alliance with Germany. When

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

became

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

, Gömbös was the first foreign head of government to visit the Nazi leader. Shortly after, Gömbös signed a major trade agreement with Germany in the hope of reducing Hungary's unemployment rate as the 1930s progressed. That amity, however, failed to endure. Hitler considered Gömbös to be far too pro-Jewish and made it clear to Gömbös that his support of Hungary had a price. The German dictator voiced willingness to take Hungary's side in any effort that Hungary carried out to regain land from

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, but he would not support Hungary against the territorial ambitions of either Romania or Yugoslavia. Unlike Mussolini, Hitler also resented Gömbös's plans to expand the size and power of the Hungarian military.

Death in office

However, Gömbös never lived to see his ambitious plans come to fruition. Gömbös, after a long illness, died of

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

on 6 October 1936.Earlier accounts had kidney failure as the cause of death. See

Burial

Gömbös was buried at Kerepesi Cemetery among exceptional circumstances; his funeral procession was attended by hundreds of thousands of Hungarians, and his catafalque was visited by many dignitaries because he was the head of the government.

References

External links

A Gömbös-kormányról
bibl.u-szeged.hu; retrieved 12 June 2018.
Gömbös Gyula
Gergely Jenő írása], mult-kor.hu; retrieved 12 June 2018.
Az evangélikus Gömbös Gyula
lutheran.hu; retrieved 12 June 2018. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gombos, Gyula 1886 births 1936 deaths People from Tolna County People from the Kingdom of Hungary Hungarian Lutherans Prime ministers of Hungary Ministers of foreign affairs of Hungary Ministers of defence of Hungary Unity Party (Hungary) politicians Hungarian National Independence Party politicians Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1920–1922) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1922–1926) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1926–1931) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1931–1935) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1935–1939) Hungarian fascists Fascist politicians Far-right politics in Hungary Conservatism in Hungary Fascism in Hungary Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of Vitéz Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Deaths from testicular cancer Deaths from cancer in Germany