Sándor Gáspár (15 April 1917 – 16 April 2002) was a Hungarian communist politician and trade unionist. Born in

Pánd Pánd is a village in Pest county, Hungary. Location Pánd is located between the towns of Káva and Tápióbicske along the minor road connecting Nagykáta and Monor. It is almost entirely located in the valleys of Őr Hill and Dobos Hill. ...

, Gáspár worked as a mechanic, and in 1935 joined the Metalworkers' Trade Union. The following year, he joined the

Hungarian Social Democratic Party The Social Democratic Party of Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szociáldemokrata Párt, MSZDP) is a social democratic political party in Hungary. Historically, the party was dissolved during the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany (1944–1945) ...

, then in 1940, the

Hungarian Communist Party The Hungarian Communist Party ( hu, Magyar Kommunista Párt, abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary ( hu, Kommunisták Magyarországi Pártja, abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar ...

(HCP). In 1945, he was elected to the trade union's leadership, and as an organiser for the HCP in the sixth district of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. He rapidly rose to prominence, winning election to the HCP's Central Committee in 1946, and then in 1947 winning election to Parliament. That year, he was also appointed as deputy general secretary of the metalworkers' union. In 1948, the HCP was merged with the Social Democratic Party, to form the

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, John, a ...

(MDP), and he continued on the Central Committee. In 1950, he became general secretary of the metalworkers, and he spent some time studying at the

Higher Party School Education in the Soviet Union was guaranteed as a constitutional right to all people provided through state schools and universities. The education system that emerged after the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922 became internationally ren ...

in Moscow, in 1951/52. On his return, he was appointed as deputy general secretary of the National Council of Trade Unions (NCTU), and in 1954 he was promoted to become its president. Gáspár was elected to the Politburo of the MDP in 1956. During the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, he was loyal to

János Kádár János József Kádár (; ; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989), born János József Czermanik, was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health le ...

, arguing in favour of multi-party democracy, but against the workers' councils. He was one of the leading founders of the

Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt, 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 Peop ...

(MSzMP), and remained on its central committee, and was its secretary until 1962. He was general secretary of the NCTU until 1959, and again from 1965 to 1983, then its president. In the early 1970s, Gáspár opposed Kádár's economic reforms, becoming part of an attempt in 1972 to remove Kádár from power, although he then switched sides to support Kádár. In 1978, he was elected as president of the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

(WFTU). Gáspár opposed the reforms of the late 1980s, and stood down from the NCTU and the central committee of the MSzMP in 1988. The following year, he also left the WFTU, and entered retirement.

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