Ernő Gerő

From the longer Wikipedia page

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

In the November 1945 election, Hungary, the Hungarian Communist Party, under Gerő and Mátyás Rákosi got 17% of the vote, compared to 57% for the Smallholders' Party, but the Soviet commander in Hungary, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov installed a coalition government with communists in key posts. The communists staged a sham election and took full control in 1949, with Rákosi as party leader, prime minister (and effective head of state). Gerő and Mihály Farkas were Rákosi's right-hand men.

Rákosi's authority was shaken in 1953 by the death of Stalin, when the Soviet Union insisted on Imre Nagy taking over as prime minister, but Gerő was retained as a counterweight to the reformers. Rákosi, having managed to regain control, was then undermined by Nikita Khrushchev's secret speech in early 1956 denouncing Stalinism, and forced to leave office on 18 July 1956 by Anastas Mikoyan, although he was able to designate Gerő to succeed him as party leader.

After Rákosi stepped down, Gerő was instated as party leader in his stead. Gerő had been Rákosi's close associate since 1948, and was fully implicated in the purges, the industrialization and collectivization of Hungary. Gerő led the country for a brief period, known as the 'Gerő Interregnum', from 18 July 1956 to 24 October 1956, just over three months.

The Soviet envoys finally forced Gerő to resign on 25 October 1956, during the second day of the Hungarian Uprising, after he gave an unduly harsh speech that enraged the people. The central committee met and agreed that János Kádár should be made party leader and Imre Nagy be made prime minister, marking the end of the Gerő interregnum. Gerő fled to the Soviet Union, but after the revolution was crushed, the more moderate Communist regime of Kádár initially refused to let him return to Hungary.

He was finally allowed to return from exile in 1960, but was promptly expelled from the Communist Party. He worked as an occasional translator in Budapest during his retirement. His character plays a central role in Vilmos Kondor's 2012 novel Budapest Noir and the whole series. He died in Budapest in 1980 at the age of 81.

More information on the Hungarian Wikipedia page.