István Antal (18 February 1896 – 11 October 1975) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education and as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in 1944. Born in Kenderes, he knew

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 ...

from here, who was born here likewise. He fought in the First World War, after his returning from the front he joined several right extremist

student organization A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university, college, or other educational institution, whose membership ty ...

s. Antal founded the Red-White Bloc firstly, which worked against

Mihály Károlyi Count Mihály Ádám György Miklós Károlyi de Nagykároly (; ; or in short simple form: Michael Károlyi; 4 March 1875 – 19 March 1955) was a Hungarian politician who served as a leader of the short-lived and unrecognized First Hungarian Re ...

's republic then the

Hungarian Soviet Republic The Hungarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Socialist Federative Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived communist state that existed from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919 (133 days), succeeding the First Hungarian Republic. The Hungari ...

, then he became one of the leaders of the Turul Student Organization. He met Mihály Kolosváry-Borcsa here at first. Antal soon finished the University of Law. After that he served as

press officer A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duties ...

of Prime Minister

Gyula Gömbös Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa (26 December 1886 – 6 October 1936) was a Hungarian military officer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1 October 1932 to his death. Background Gömbös was born in Murga, Tolna County, King ...

, later became state secretary of the Ministry of Justice. He was member of the Miklós Kállay cabinet from 1942 as Minister without portfolio of National Defence and Propaganda. After the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

the new prime minister

Döme Sztójay Döme Sztójay ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Стојаковић, 5 January 1883 – 22 August 1946) was a Hungarian soldier and diplomat of Serb origin, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary in 1944, during World War II. Biography Born in ...

appointed him Minister of Justice and Minister of Religion and Education. In these times he actively took a part in creating the newer anti-Jewish laws and its introduction. He did not take part in the governance after the

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party (, , 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 Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to ...

's coup. In addition he was arrested for a short time, because of criticizing

Ferenc Szálasi Ferenc Szálasi (; 6 January 1897 – 12 March 1946) was a Hungarian military officer, politician, Nazi sympathizer and founder of the far-right Arrow Cross Party who List of prime ministers of Hungary, headed the government of Hungary duri ...

's mental efficiency. After the Second World War he was sentenced to death for war crimes by the People's Tribune in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, but he was not executed after

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892 – 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communism, communist politician who was the ''de facto'' leader of Hungary from 1947 to 1956. He served first as General Secretary of the Hungarian ...

's personal intervention. For the second time he was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

. Antal was set free in 1960, lived until his death in retirement. His memoirs were published in 2004.

References

Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antal, Istvan 1896 births 1975 deaths People from Kenderes People from the Kingdom of Hungary Hungarian Roman Catholics Unity Party (Hungary) politicians Hungarian National Independence Party politicians Ministers of education of Hungary Members of justice of Hungary Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1935–1939) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1939–1944) Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Hungarian collaborators with Nazi Germany Holocaust perpetrators in Hungary Hungarian people convicted of war crimes Hungarian politicians convicted of crimes Hungarian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Hungary