Dénes Berinkey

Dénes Berinkey
2nd Prime Minister of the Hungarian Democratic Republic
In office 11 January – 21 March 1919
Preceded by	Mihály Károlyi
Succeeded by	Sándor Garbai
Personal details
Born	17 October 1871 Csúz, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now Dubnik, Slovakia)
Died	25 June 1944 (aged 72) Budapest, Hungary
Nationality	Hungarian

Dénes Berinkey (17 October 1871 – 25 June 1944) was a Hungarian jurist and politician who served as prime minister in the regime of Mihály Károlyi for two months in 1919.

On 20 March 1919 the French presented the Vix Note ordering Hungarian troops further back into Hungary; it was widely assumed that the military lines would be the new frontiers. Berinkey was unwilling to accept the Note, as it would have endangered the country's territorial integrity. However, he was in no position to reject it either. As a result, Berinkey and his cabinet resigned. President Károlyi then announced only the Social Democrats could form a new government. Unknown to Károlyi, however, the Social Democrats had merged with the Communists. Thus, when Károlyi turned over power to what he thought was a Social Democratic government, he was actually swearing in a Communist one. The new government promptly proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic.

External links

• Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon (Hungarian)
• Karl-Heinz Gräfe: Von der Asternrevolution zur Räterepublik. Ungarn 1918/19, in: UTOPIE kreativ, Oktober 2004, S. 885–900 (German)
• Die Argumente der Gewalt (Ungarn 1918/19) (German)