Sándor Zöld (19 May 1913 – 20 April 1951) was a Hungarian

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

politician, who served as

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

between 1950 and 1951. He followed

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

in this position. Born in

Nagyvárad Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

(today Oradea, Romania), his family moved to

Berettyóújfalu Berettyóújfalu is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, in center of the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary, near the border with Romania. It is strategically located, being 35 km south of Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary, ...

after the signing of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

. In 1932 he joined the illegal Communist Party with the support of

Gyula Kállai Gyula Kállai (; 1 June 1910 – 12 March 1996) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1949 to 1951, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) from 1965 to 1967 and Speaker of the Natio ...

who recruited him. From 1942 he worked as a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

in the Berettyóújfalu hospital. He was a member of the interim national assembly in

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

at the end of the

Second World War 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 ...

. In the Rákosi regime, he was appointed as interior minister. On 19 April 1951, on the party's congress,

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892 – 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communism, communist politician who was the ''de facto'' leader of Hungary from 1947 to 1956. He served first as General Secretary of the Hungarian ...

criticized the work of the Ministry of the Interior and later considered to have him arrested. The next day the authorities found Zöld's dead body together with those of his whole family: two children, his wife and his mother. According to the official information, Zöld killed his family then committed suicide. He was relieved of his interior ministerial position on the day of his death, and he was deprived of his offices in 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, Joh ...

. His ashes were buried in an honorary grave in the

Kerepesi Cemetery Kerepesi Cemetery (Hungarian: ''Kerepesi úti temető'' or ''Kerepesi temető'', official name: ''Fiumei úti nemzeti sírkert'', i.e. "Fiume Road National Graveyard") is the most famous cemetery in Budapest. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in ...

on 1 June 1957, but the exact details of what happened have never been clarified.

References

Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon
1913 births 1951 deaths People from Oradea Hungarian people of German descent Hungarian Communist Party politicians Members of the Hungarian Working People's Party Ministers of the interior 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) Hungarian politicians who died by suicide Suicides in Hungary {{Hungary-politician-stub