Records of Prime Minister Kálmán Darányi, 1930-1936

Collection description

Holding institution (official language):: Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Országos Levéltára

Scope and content:: The collection contains the correspondence of Kálmán Darányi from the years 1930 to 1936, that is, prior to his appointment to Prime Minister. The correspondence concerns various issues such as elections, parliamentary life, associations, the press, the program of Prime Minister Gyula Gömbös (1932-1936), governmental reports and press items. A significant part is of a more personal nature.

Archival history:: A substantial part of the records were lost during the Second World War. The remaining parts were acquired by the Hungarian National Archives in 1948. The material was rearranged several times.

Administrative/biographical history:: Kálmán Darányi (1886-1939) was a conservative politician and Member of Parliament who served as Prefect of Győr-Sopron-Moson County from 1920 to 1927, Minister of Agriculture between 1935 and 1938 and finally he held the position of Prime Minister between 10 October 1936 and 14 May 1938. His tenure was initially characterised by measures against the extreme right and balancing diplomatic strategies against the strengthening German influence. However, following the German annexation of Austria (13 March 1938) this tendency turned around. It was during his tenure that the “First Jewish Law” (Act XV of 1938) was prepared. Dissatisfied with his activities, Regent Horthy forced him to resign. Until his death, he remained the President of the Lower House (House of Representatives) of the two-chamber Parliament.

Finding aids:: No finding aids exist. The material requires item-level research.