Fondcsoport 3 - Documents from the Archives of the Independent Smallholders’ Party

The Independent Smallholders’, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party was founded on 12 October 1930, then in December of the same year merged with the Agrarian Party, forming the Independent Smallholders’, Agrarian Workers and Civic Agrarian Party. The party was elected to Parliament in 1931 for the first time. After the Second World War, in 1945 they won the national elections by an absolute majority, nevertheless, they had to form a coalition government with the Hungarian Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and the National Peasant Party. By the early 1950s, the Smallholders’ Party had been gradually split as a result of Mátyás Rákosi’s policy, so the party’s activities gradually ceased. During the Revolution and War of Independence of 1956, the reorganization of the Smallholders’ Party was started, but this initiative came to nothing when the War of Independence was suppressed. On 18 November 1988, the party was reestablished under the name Independent Smallholders’, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party. In the first free elections in 1990 they were elected to Parliament, formed a coalition with the Hungarian Democratic Forum and the Christian Democratic People’s Party, and participated in the government. The party entered Parliament in 1994 and 1998 as well. In 1998 they also participated in the government in a coalition with the Alliance of Young Democrats and the Hungarian Democratic Forum. In the elections in 2002 the party’s candidates did not get into Parliament. Since then the party has fallen into uncertainty and has been on the verge of dissolution.

The group of archival units contains the Archives of the historic Smallholders’ Party, and later documents preserved by the Smallholders Heritage and Archives Foundation until 2017-2018.

Accessible