Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (8 October 1874 – 5 October 1946) was a Hungarian

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

and statesman and served as prime minister from 1921 to 1931.

Early life

The scion of an old Bethlen de Bethlen noble family from

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, he was the only son of Count Istvan Bethlen de Bethlen (1831–1881) and Countess Ilona Teleki de Szék (1849–1914). He had two elder sisters: Countess Klementine Mikes de Zabola (1871–1954) and Countess Ilona Haller de Hallerkeö (1872–1924).

Career

Bethlen was elected to the Hungarian Parliament as a liberal in 1901. Later, he served as a representative of the new Hungarian government at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. In that year, the weak centrist Hungarian government collapsed and was soon replaced by the communist Hungarian Soviet Republic, under the leadership of Béla Kun. Bethlen quickly returned to Hungary to assume leadership of the anti-communist "white" government, based 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 ...

, along with former

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

Admiral

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 ...

. After the "white" forces had seized control of Hungary, Horthy was appointed

Regent of Hungary The regent of Hungary was a position established in 1446 and renewed in 1920. It was held by Admiral Miklós Horthy until 1944. Under Hungary's constitution there were two regents, one a regent of the ruling house, called the Nádor, and another ...

. Bethlen again took a seat in the Hungarian Parliament and allied with the conservative factions there. In 1919, Bethlen rejected a

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

between Romania and Hungary under the

King of Romania The King of Romania () or King of the Romanians () was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romanian People's Republic following Michael I's forced abdication. ...

. After the attempted return of King Charles IV to the throne of Hungary in 1921, Horthy asked Bethlen to form a strong government to eliminate the possibility of other such threats to the new country. Bethlen founded the Party of National Unity. He was also able to unite the two most powerful factors in Hungarian society, the wealthy primarily-Jewish industrialists 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 ...

and the old Magyar gentry in rural Hungary, into a lasting coalition. That effectively checked the rise of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

in the country for at least a decade. Bethlen reached an accord with the labour unions, earned their support for the government and eliminated a source of domestic dissent. During the May 1926 trial of the Franc affair plotters, Bethlen was called to testify over his involvement in it. French Prime Minister

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

used the scandal by pushing for Bethlen's removal from power and his replacement by a more liberal politician. The plot centred on the efforts of Hungarian nationalists to damage the French economy by disseminating forged 1,000

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

banknotes. Several plotters provided incriminating evidence of Bethlen's involvement, but he managed to cover up his role by exercising direct control over the proceedings. Facing considerable public pressure, Bethlen offered his resignation to Horthy, who refused to accept it. Bethlen subsequently shuffled his cabinet by replacing Interior Minister Iván Rakovszky. The outcome of the trials, in fact, increased Bethlen's popularity in Hungary. During his decade in office, Bethlen led Hungary into the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, arranged a close alliance with

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

and even entered into a Treaty of Friendship with Italy in 1927 to further his nation's revisionist hopes. He was defeated in his attempts to change 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 stripped Hungary of most of its territory after the First World War. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

shifted Hungarian politics to the extreme right, and Horthy replaced Bethlen with Count Gyula Károlyi de Nagykároly, which was followed quickly by Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa, a noted fascist and

antisemite Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. Increasingly shunted into political obscurity, Bethlen stood out as one of the few voices in Hungary to be actively opposed to an alliance with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. As it became apparent that Germany was going to lose the

Second World War 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 ...

, Bethlen attempted to negotiate a separate peace with the Allied powers. By the spring of 1945, most of Hungary had fallen to the advancing

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops. The communists, who returned with the Soviets, immediately began their scheme to take over the country. They saw the aging Bethlen as a threat, a man who could unite the political forces against them. That made the Soviets arrest him in March 1945. Soon afterward, Bethlen was taken to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he died in prison on 5 October 1946.Romsics, p. 388.

Personal life

On 27 June 1901, he married his distant cousin, the author Countess Margarete Bethlen de Bethlen (1882–1970). They had 3 sons: * Count András Bethlen de Bethlen (1902–1970) ⚭ Magda Viola (b.1901) ⚭ Eszter Mészáros (1892–1955) ⚭ Maria Palma 'Mizzi' Hoffmann (b.1906); no issue * Count István Bethlen de Bethlen (1904–1982) ⚭ Donna Maria Isabella dei Conti Parravicini (1912–2008); had issue * Count Gábor Bethlen de Bethlen (1906–1981) ⚭ Edith Schmidt (1909–1969); had issue

Notes

References

* * Ignác Romsics: ''István Bethlen: A Great Conservative Statesman of Hungary, 1874–1946.'' East European Monographs. Columbia University Press, 1995. * * * * ''Bethlen Istvan Emlekirata, 1944,'' Published in Hungarian/Magyar by Zrinyi Katonai Koenyvkiado, 1988. * Record of Margarete Bethlen de Bethlen'
death certificate
from the Magyar Főnemességi Adattár (Hungarian Database of the Aristocracy)

External links