István Oláh

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István Oláh
OlahIstvan.gif
Minister of Defence of Hungary
In office
6 December 1984 – 15 December 1985
PresidentJános Kádár
Preceded byLajos Czinege
Succeeded byFerenc Kárpáti
Personal details
Born(1926-12-16)16 December 1926
Nádudvar, Hungary
Died15 December 1985(1985-12-15) (aged 58)[1]
Budapest, Hungary
Political partyHungarian Socialist Workers' Party
Military service
AllegianceGovernment Ensign of Hungary (1957-1990).svg Hungarian People's Republic
Branch/serviceHungarian People's Army
Years of service1945–1985
RankField Marshal

István Oláh (16 December 1926 – 15 December 1985) was a Hungarian military officer and politician, who served as Minister of Defence from 1984 until his death.

Biography[]

In 1945, he became a volunteer in the Hungarian People's Army. That same year he joined the Communist Party.[2] In 1949 he graduated from the Kossuth Military Academy. In 1964, he a studied at the Voroshilov Soviet Higher Military Academy. From 1966 to 1973, he rose through the ranks of the Hungarian People's Army. He had been serving as a Deputy Minister of Defense of the Hungarian People's Army since 1966.[3] In 1975, he was made a permanent member of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers Party.[4] He was the Minister of Defense after the removal of Lajos Czinege.[5]

Death[]

Oláh died on 15 December 1985, a day before his 59th birthday.[6] He was buried in Kerepesi Cemetery. Conspiracy theories about his death arose has his death occurred at a time when the defense ministers of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and East Germany had also died within the same year. It gave rise to assumptions by the media about a specially held action by the Western special services to eliminate the supporters of a forceful solution to the 1981 Polish hunger demonstrations.[7]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Hungary's new Defense Minister, Gen. Istvan Olah, died today, the official Soviet press agency Tass reported from Budapest. He was 59 years old". nytimes.com/. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. ^ "General Olah joined the Hungarian Communist Party in 1945".
  3. ^ "General Olah had been a Deputy Defense Minister since 1966, the year he was also promoted to general. In January 1973 he was named Chief of Staff of the army".
  4. ^ "He was active in its youth movement and in 1975 was named to the party's policy-making Central Committee".
  5. ^ "General Olah was appointed Defense Minister on Dec. 6, succeeding Gen. Lajos Czinege. General Czinege, Defense Minister since 1960, was named to the largely ceremonial post of Deputy Prime Minister".
  6. ^ "Hungary's new Defense Minister, Gen. Istvan Olah, died today, the official Soviet press agency Tass reported from Budapest. He was 59 years old".
  7. ^ ТВЦ, 19 декабря 2014. Маршал Устинов: последний защитник социализма
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Defence
1984–1985
Succeeded by


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