Sándor Garbai (27 March 1879 – 7 November 1947) was a Hungarian socialist politician who was the

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

leader of the Hungarian Soviet Republic as both its

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Life and political career

Garbai was born into the family of a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

bricklayer. An active participant in the labor movement from a young age, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Hungary (MSZDP) in 1901 and quickly rose through its ranks. From 1908 he was the chairman of the Workers' Insurance Fund and during the First Hungarian Republic he headed the All National Housing Council. He was in favour of the merger of the MSZDP with the Hungarian Communist Party which occurred on 21 March 1919. This led to the foundation of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, with Garbai as the Chairman of the Revolutionary Governing Council, both head of state and prime minister. Although Garbai remained titular leader of the Soviet Republic for the better part of its existence, the de facto leader of the state was Communist foreign minister Béla Kun. Garbai Kun

After the fall of the Soviet Republic, he was arrested by the Romanian military. Fearing reprisals, Garbai escaped from Romanian captivity in Cluj and fled to Czechoslovakia and first in settled Bratislava and then emigrated to Vienna. He was a leader of the centrist Marxist movement among the Hungarian political refugees. With his family, he opened a restaurant in Vienna, where he hosted former communist and other socialist leaders. The restaurant soon went bankrupt, Garbai suffered huge financial losses and lived in poverty for the rest of his lifetime. After leaving Austria in 1934 due to the victory of the right-wing Fatherland Front, he settled in Bratislava, and in 1938, in Paris. During the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

he did not participate in the

Resistance Movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

, although the underground tried to recruit him. He was also not bothered by the German occupiers. After the liberation of Hungary, Garbai and his family desired to return to their homeland but their request was rejected. Garbai remained in Paris where he died on November 7, 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garbai, Sandor 1879 births 1947 deaths People from Kiskunhalas Hungarian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Social Democratic Party of Hungary politicians Prime ministers of Hungary Ministers of education of Hungary Hungarian Marxists Heads of government who were later imprisoned