István Oláh
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
Allegiance Hungarian People's Republic
Branch/service Hungarian People's Army
Years of service1945–1985
RankArmy General

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]

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". The New York Times. 16 December 1985. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "General Olah joined the Hungarian Communist Party in 1945". The New York Times. 16 December 1985.
  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". The New York Times. 16 December 1985.
  4. ↑ "He was active in its youth movement and in 1975 was named to the party's policy-making Central Committee". The New York Times. 16 December 1985.
  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". The New York Times. 16 December 1985.
  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". The New York Times. 16 December 1985.
  7. ↑ ТВЦ, 19 декабря 2014. Маршал Устинов: последний защитник социализма


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