Pál Maléter (4 September 1917 – 16 June 1958) was the military leader of the

1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

who served as

minister of defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in the third government of Imre Nagy. Maléter was born to Hungarian parents in Eperjes, a city in

Sáros County Sáros (- Hungarian, Slovak: ''Šariš'', Latin: ''comitatus Sarossiensis'', German: ''Scharosch'') was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in northeastern Slovakia. Today, Šariš is only an in ...

, in the northern part of

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, today Prešov,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. He studied medicine at the

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, before moving to

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 ...

in 1938, going to the military academy there. He fought on the Eastern Front of

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 ...

for the Axis, until captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. He became a communist, trained in

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

, fought against the Germans in Transylvania and was sent back to

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 ...

, where he was noted for his courage and daring. In 1945 he joined the

Hungarian Communist Party 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 ...

. In 1956 he was a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and served with the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

when during the Hungarian Uprising he was sent to relieve a unit at the Kilian barracks with some tanks and a company of officer cadets. However, only Maléter's tank arrived at the barracks, and with the permission of his superiors, he agreed to a cease-fire with the insurgent groups in the area. Later (the exact time of this is disputed) he switched to the insurgents' side, helping them to defend the Kilian Barracks against Soviet troops. He was the most prominent member of the Hungarian military to change sides, allying himself with the insurgents, rather than with

Ernő Gerő Ernő Gerő (; born Ernő Singer; 8 July 1898 – 12 March 1980) was a Hungarian Communist leader in the period after World War II and briefly in 1956 the most powerful man in Hungary as the leader of its ruling communist party. Early career G ...

's communist government. As the chief military presence on the insurgents' side, he came into contact with the new government and on 29 October, he was appointed Minister of Defense, and was promoted to Major General on 2 November. On 3 November, he went to

Tököl Tököl () is a town in Pest County, Hungary. Demography The majority of residents are Hungarians, with a Croatian minority of Bunjevci or Raci. Hungarian Uprising An Budapest-Tököl airfield (47 20 35 N / 18 59 20 E) was built during World ...

, located near Budapest, to negotiate with the

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 ...

military forces based there. During discussions on the following day, and against

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, Soviet officers arrested Maléter at the conference and imprisoned him. He was executed, along with

Imre Nagy Imre Nagy ( ; ; 7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's Republic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (''de facto'' Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minis ...

and others, in a

prison on 16 June 1958 on charges of attempting to overthrow the

Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...

. His first wife and three children went to the U.S. in the wake of the uprising, and his second wife remained in Hungary. Both wives subsequently remarried. His only son, Pál Maléter II (1946 – January 4, 2017), was trained at the Hotchkiss School and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

before becoming an architect in the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

. In June 1989, on the anniversary of their deaths, Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter, three others who had died in prison and a sixth empty coffin, symbolising all those who had died, were formally reburied in Budapest with full honours. He was also promoted to Colonel General posthumously. A pine cultivar has been named after him, a dwarf variety. Maléter was known for his great height; according to historian Victor Sebestyen, Maléter was "more than two meters tall",Victor Sebestyen (2006), ''Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution'', , p. 130. or at least six feet eight inches ().

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