Dénes Berinkey

Who was Dénes Berinkey?

Dénes Berinkey 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.