Bárdossy, László

Born Oct. 10, 1890, in Budapest; died Jan. 10, 1946, in Budapest. Hungarian political figure and diplomat.

Between 1924 and 1931, Bárdossy was director of the press division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary. From 1931 to 1934 he was counselor of the Hungarian Embassy in London. He was ambassador to Rumania from 1934 to 1941. Between February 1941 and March 1942 he was minister of foreign affairs, and from Apr. 4, 1941, to March 9, 1942, he was simultaneously prime minister and chairman of the ruling Hungarian Party of Life. On June 23, 1941, his government broke off diplomatic relations with the USSR, and on June 27 it declared war on the USSR, becoming a participant in the aggression of fascist Germany. From 1943, Bárdossy was chairman of the fascist United Christian National League. He collaborated with the Nylaskereszt (Crossed Arrows) Party and the German occupiers; he attempted to unite all the fascist trends in Hungary. He was arrested as a war criminal in 1945 and executed by sentence of the Budapest people’s court.