József Révai (born József Lederer'';'' 12 October 1898 – 4 August 1959) was a Hungarian communist politician, statesman and cultural ideologue.

Life and career

Révai was born to a middle-class Jewish family.

Anne Applebaum Anne Elizabeth Applebaum (born July 25, 1964) is an American journalist and historian. She has written about the history of Communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. She holds Polish citizenship as well. Ap ...

, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1945–56, 2012, , p. 144 He was one of the founders of the

Communist Party of Hungary The Hungarian Communist Party (, , abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary (, , abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar period and briefly after World War II. It was founded on Novem ...

''(Kommunisták Magyarországi Pártja; KMP)'' in 1918. Révai lived in the

Soviet Union 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 ...

between 1934 and 1944. From 11 May to 27 September 1945 he was a member of the

High National Council The High National Council () was the collective head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1945 until 1946. Members of the High National Council Parties First Council Second Council See also *List of heads of state of Hungary This ...

, and between 1945 and 1950 he was chief editor of ''

Szabad Nép ''Szabad Nép'' (, ) was a Hungarian daily newspaper which was the central organ of the Hungarian Communist Party (1942–1948) and from February 1948 the Hungarian Working People's Party. The newspaper was the predecessor to ''Népszabadság''. ...

'' ("Free People"). Révai controlled all aspects of Hungary's cultural life from 1948 until 1953; from 1949 he was also the Minister of Culture. After 1953 his influence decreased. Between 1945–1956 he was a member of the Central Committee of his party, which was renamed in 1948 to

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 ...

''(Magyar Dolgozók Pártja; MDP)'' after merging with the

Hungarian Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party of Hungary (, , MSZDP) is a social democratic political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was dissolved during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany (1944–1945) and the communist period of Hungary from ...

''(Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt, MSZDP)''. He was the member of the Political Committee (1945–1953; 1956). After the Workers' Party was dissolved and the

Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (, , MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working People's Party during the Hungaria ...

took over its role as the ruling Communist party, Révai became a member of the new party's Central Committee in 1957. He was vice-president to the Presidential Committee between 1953–1958. Révai died on August 4, 1959, after years of suffering from heart disease.

Works

* '' Ady'' (Budapest, 1945) * ''Marxizmus és magyarság'' ("Marxism and the Hungarians"; Budapest, 1946) * ''Marxizmus és népiesség'' ("Marxism and Popularism"; Budapest, 1946) * ''Élni tudunk a szabadsággal'' ("We Can Live with Freedom"; Budapest, 1949) * ''Kulturális forradalmunk kérdései'' ("Questions about our Cultural Revolution"; Budapest, 1952) * ''Válogatott irodalmi tanulmányok'' ("Selected Essays in Literature", Budapest, 1960) * ''Válogatott történelmi írások'' I–II. ("Selected Essays in History I–II."; Budapest, 1966).

Sources

* Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon 1000–1990 * Egyetemes Lexikon, Officina Nova Kiadó (1994).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revai, Jozsef 1898 births 1959 deaths Politicians from Budapest category:People from the Kingdom of Hungary Jewish Hungarian politicians Hungarian Communist Party politicians Members of the Hungarian Working People's Party Members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Culture ministers of Hungary Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1945–1947) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1947–1949) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1949–1953) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1953–1958) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1958–1963)