Gerő interregnum

The Gerő Interregnum occurred in Hungary between the downfall of Mátyás Rákosi and the appointment of János Kádár as General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party.

On 18 July 1956, the Hungarian leader Mátyás Rákos was told to resign by Atanas Mikoyan, a member of the Soviet leadership who had the responsibility of overseeing Soviet relations with east European parties. Rákosi in return called Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev for support, but was told to resign by Khrushchev, as it was his message that Atanas Mikoyan had relayed. Therefore, Rákosi stepped down and appointed Ernő Gerő, his close associate since 1948 who was fully implicated in the purges, the industrialization and collectivization of Hungary and who was a former colonel in the Red Army, as his successor. This interregnum, led by Gerő, lasted from 18 July 1956 to 24 October 1956, just over three months. In that period, Gerő was not committed to reform, unlike the people of Hungary, but was for collectivization and the war against the intellectuals or the intelligentsia. Unlike what had happened in Poland, Gerő had been changed in accordance with Soviet wishes and not in opposition to them. With bitter dislike of Gerő by the intelligentsia, several demonstrations took place in the following three months. Imre Nagy, a former leader of Hungary, heightened the publics awareness of the purge trials of a century earlier, led the most powerful and fatal demonstration toward the leadership position of Ernő Gerő. Gerő lost all of public support and resigned shortly after during the Hungarian Uprising. 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.