View source for Gyula Horn

{{Short description|Hungarian politician (1932–2013)}}
{{Hungarian name|Horn Gyula János}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox Prime Minister 
| name         = Gyula Horn
| order        = [[Prime Minister of Hungary]]
| president    = [[Árpád Göncz]]
| image        = Gyula Horn (2007).jpg
| caption      = Horn in 2007
| term_start   = 15 July 1994
| term_end     = 6 July 1998
| predecessor  = [[Péter Boross]]
| successor    = [[Viktor Orbán]]
| order2       = [[National Assembly (Hungary)|Member of the National Assembly]]
| term_start2  = 2 May 1990
| term_end2    = 13 May 2010
| order3       = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Hungary)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| primeminister3 = [[Miklós Németh]]
| term_start3  = 10 May 1989
| term_end3    = 23 May 1990
| predecessor3 = [[Péter Várkonyi]]
| successor3   = [[Géza Jeszenszky]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1932|7|5|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Budapest]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|2013|6|19|1932|7|5|df=yes}}
| death_place  = Budapest, Hungary
| spouse       = Anna Király
| children     = 2
| party        = [[Hungarian Socialist Party|MSZP]] (1989–2013)
| otherparty   = [[Hungarian Working People's Party|MDP]] (1954–1956)<br />[[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party|MSZMP]] (1956–1989)
|signature=Signature of Gyula Horn.jpg}}
'''Gyula János Horn''' (5 July 1932 – 19 June 2013)<ref name="reuters">{{Cite web | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-horn-idUSBRE95I1G320130619/ |title = Gyula Horn, the man who tore the Iron Curtain, dies at 80| publisher = Reuters | access-date = 22 June 2013}}</ref> was a Hungarian politician who was the [[Prime Minister of Hungary]] from 1994 to 1998.

Horn was the last Communist [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Hungary)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] of Hungary. He played a major role in demolishing the "[[Iron Curtain]]" for East Germans in 1989, contributing to the later unification of Germany. During his premiership, he launched the [[Bokros package]], the biggest [[fiscal austerity]] programme in post-communist Hungary, in 1995.

==Early life and education==
Horn was born in Budapest in 1932 as the third child of transport worker Géza Horn who was of Jewish background and factory worker Anna Csörnyei.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mai születésnapos: Horn Gyula, egy zsidó munkásfiú és miniszterelnök és még egy meglepetés |url=https://mazsihisz.hu/hirek-a-zsido-vilagbol/mazsihisz-hirek/mai-szuletesnapos-horn-gyula-egy-zsido-munkasfiu-es-miniszterelnok-es-meg-egy-meglepetes |website=Mazsihisz |access-date=14 January 2022}}</ref> He was brought up in a [[Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary|Lutheran]] household.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nevpont.hu/palyakep/horn-gyula-e8b3f|title=Horn Gyula|trans-title=Gyula Horn|lang=hu|last=Kozák|first=Péter|website=Névpont|date=2020|access-date=7 February 2022}}</ref> They lived in conditions of poverty at the so-called "Barrack" estate between Nagyicce and [[Sashalom]]. There were seven brothers in the family: filmmaker Géza (1925–1956), Károly (1930–1946), Tibor (1935), Sándor (1939), Tamás (1942) and Dénes (1944).<ref name=wpforum>{{cite web|title=Biographies|url=http://www.theworldpoliticalforum.net/wp-content/uploads/wpf2003/05_founding_conference_turin/varie/bio.pdf|publisher=The World Politics Forum|access-date=1 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714193451/http://www.theworldpoliticalforum.net/wp-content/uploads/wpf2003/05_founding_conference_turin/varie/bio.pdf|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>

After the [[Operation Margarethe|German occupation of Hungary]], his father was kidnapped by the [[Gestapo]] due to communist activities in 1944 and never returned.<ref name="parlament-biography">{{cite web|title=Életrajz|url=http://www.parlament.hu/kepviselo/elet/h073.htm|publisher=[[National Assembly of Hungary]]|access-date=10 July 2013}}</ref> Gyula Horn's niece is [[Szófia Havas]] (b. Szófia Horn, 1955), Member of Parliament between 2006 and 2010, whose father Géza, Jr. was killed under unclear circumstances during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|1956 revolution]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://mno.hu/migr_1834/mecsek-magukra-maradtak-416239 | title = Mécsék magukra maradtak | publisher = [[Magyar Nemzet|MNO.hu]] | access-date = 10 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140912224951/http://mno.hu/migr_1834/mecsek-magukra-maradtak-416239 | archive-date = 12 September 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

He first studied in a lower technicians' school in Hungary. He graduated from the [[Rostov-on-Don]] College of Economics and Finance in 1954. He finished the political academy of the [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]] (MSZMP) in 1970. He received Candidate of Economic Sciences in 1977.

He married statistician Anna Király in February 1956 and had two children: Anna (1956) and Gyula, Jr. (1969).<ref name="parlament-biography"/>

==In politics (1954–1994)==
In 1954 Horn joined the Hungarian communist party, then called the [[Hungarian Working People's Party]] (MDP). In November 1956, he helped reorganize the MDP into the [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]] (MSZMP), which under the leadership of [[János Kádár]] crushed the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|1956 Hungarian revolution]] against Soviet occupation and communist rule.<ref name="Nepszabadsag">{{Cite web | url = http://nol.hu/belfold/meghalt_horn_gyula?ref=sso | title = Meghalt Horn Gyula| publisher= [[Népszabadság]] | access-date = 22 June 2013 | language = hu| date = 19 June 2013}}</ref>

Horn worked in the Ministry of Finance from 1954 to 1959. He got a job in the Foreign Ministry in 1959, first as an official in the independent Soviet department. In the 1960s he was a diplomat in the Hungarian embassies in [[Bulgaria]] and [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]].<ref name="Nepszabadsag"/>

[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F083119-0006, Ungarn, Besuch Außenminister Genscher in Ungarn.jpg|thumb|left|Gyula Horn with West German Foreign Minister [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]] in 1989]]

In 1969 Horn became an official in the foreign affairs department of the MSZMP Central Committee. By 1983 he rose to the rank of department head. In 1985 he was appointed secretary of state (deputy minister) in the Foreign Ministry. In 1989 he stepped forward to become foreign minister in the country's last communist government led by [[Miklós Németh]].<ref name="Nepszabadsag"/>  By this time, Horn had become a prominent member of the party's reformist wing, which wanted to jettison the [[goulash Communism]] of Kádár in favour of Western-style democracy and a market economy.

As a minister he was in charge of foreign affairs when Hungary decided to open the western border (the "[[Iron Curtain]]") to East Germans wishing to emigrate to West Germany. He is often credited with having a major part in the decision and, consequently, a role in German unification.

He and his Austrian counterpart [[Alois Mock]] posed for cameras on 27 June 1989 to cut through a barbed wire frontier fence, in a largely symbolic act of rapprochement which had been planned months before. As foreign minister he ordered the border to be opened to allow East Germans gathered in Hungary by the thousands to cross into Austria, and from there to West Germany. With this act he greatly contributed to the later unification of Germany. Within weeks tens of thousands of East Germans, who travelled to Hungary with "tourist" visas, headed straight for the unfortified border and walked into the West. Horn outraged his East German counterparts when he told them that international treaties on refugees took precedence over a 1969 agreement between Budapest and East Berlin limiting freedom of movement.  The fall of East German communism and the process of German unification had been launched. With dizzying speed, communist governments in the region succumbed to popular uprisings and sheer fatigue. Within a few years, the Soviet Union itself had evaporated.<ref name="reuters"/>

Horn helped lead the transformation of the MSZMP into the [[Hungarian Socialist Party]] later in 1989.  As foreign minister he prepared and signed the Hungarian-Soviet troop withdrawal agreement in March 1990. Among the politicians of the transitional era, including representatives of civil opposition, he was the first in Hungary who raised and suggested the issue of possible membership in [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]] and the [[European Union]].

He was elected to Parliament in [[1990 Hungarian parliamentary election|1990]] and retained a seat until the [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|2010 parliamentary election]].<ref name="Nepszabadsag"/>  The Socialists were roundly defeated in that election, taking only 33 seats. He served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs between 1990 and 1993, until his resignation.<ref name="parlament-biography"/>  Also in 1990, he succeeded [[Rezső Nyers]] as chairman of the Socialist Party.

Between 1990 and 1995, he was a member of the Governing Board of the [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]] (SIPRI). He also functioned as one of the vice presidents of the [[Socialist International]] from 1996 to 2003.<ref name="parlament-biography"/>

== Prime Minister (1994–1998) ==
{{Infobox administration
| image = Gyula Horn at the award ceremony of the Charlemagne Prize.jpg (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = 
| name = Premiership of Gyula Horn
| term_start = 15 July 1994
| term_end = 6 July 1998
| president = [[Árpád Göncz]]
| cabinet = [[Horn Government]]
| party = [[Hungarian Socialist Party|MSZP]]
| election = [[1994 Hungarian parliamentary election]]
| predecessor = [[Péter_Boross#Prime_Minister_(1993–1994)|Péter Boross]]
| successor = [[Viktor Orbán#First premiership (1998–2002)|Viktor Orbán]]
}}
Horn led the Socialists to a comprehensive victory in the [[1994 Hungarian parliamentary election|1994 parliamentary election]]. The MSZP leaped from a paltry 33 seats in 1990 to 209, at the time the second-most that a Hungarian party has ever won in a free election.  The size of the MSZP landslide took even Horn by surprise.  Although the Socialists had more than enough seats to govern alone, Horn suspected he would have trouble getting needed reforms past his own party's left wing. He also wanted to allay concerns both inside and outside Hungary of a former Communist party winning an absolute majority. With this in mind, he went into coalition with the liberal [[Alliance of Free Democrats]], giving him a two-thirds majority.<ref name="Nepszabadsag"/> A few days before election day, Horn and his convoy suffered a major car accident between [[Emőd]] and [[Nyékládháza]] on the way back from a campaign closing event from [[Miskolc]]; Horn suffered a [[cervical fracture]] and was forced to wear a [[halo brace]] for months.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://index.hu/belfold/tegnapiujsag/2008/05/05/1995_horn_gyula_balesetenek_legendaja/|title = 1994: Horn Gyula balesetének legendája|date = 5 May 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Festakt Freiheitspreis 5-10-05 027.JPG|thumb|right|Gyula Horn in 2005]]
In 1995, Horn's government enacted the "Bokros package", a major austerity program. This was a difficult decision for a social democratic party, and Horn had to expend considerable effort to get most of his party to agree to it.<ref name="Nepszabadsag"/>

Although Horn relinquished leadership of the party after the Socialists lost the [[1998 Hungarian parliamentary election|1998 election]] to [[Viktor Orbán]] and [[Fidesz]], he was for a long time considered to have considerable influence in the party, partly because of his personal popularity among elderly voters. However, after 2002 he went into semi-retirement. The Medgyessy Cabinet appointed him Special Rapporteur for the European Union. He received second place in the election list of the MSZP during the [[2004 European Parliament election in Hungary]], however Horn stated before the election that would not become an [[Member of European Parliament|MEP]].

Horn has received several awards for his achievements in foreign relations, among others the [[Charlemagne Award]] of the city of [[Aachen]] in 1990.<ref name="Nepszabadsag"/>  He did not, however, get the Civil Division of the [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary]] in 2007, suggested by [[Ferenc Gyurcsány]], as it was refused by Hungarian President [[László Sólyom]], who explicitly stated Horn's views on the 1956 revolution as the reason.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://mti.hu/cikk/215681/ |title = Report of the Hungarian News Agency |publisher = mti.hu}} {{dead link|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.jogiforum.hu/hirek/16221 |title = Sólyom László megtagadta Horn kitüntetését (Solyom refuses to give prize to Horn) |language = hu | access-date = 22 June 2013 | date = 5 July 2007}}</ref>

According to a survey in 2011, [[Viktor Orbán]] was found to be Hungary's best prime minister since the [[End of Communism in Hungary (1989)|transition to democracy]], [[József Antall]], the head of the first democratically elected government between 1990 and 1993, came second while Horn and [[Gordon Bajnai]] (2009–10) tied for the third place.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.politics.hu/20110526/nezopont-survey-suggests-orban-best-pm-since-1990-fidesz-retains-twothirds-support/ | title = Nézőpont survey suggests Orbán best PM since 1990, Fidesz retains two-thirds support | publisher = Politics.hu | access-date = 22 June 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140521012346/http://www.politics.hu/20110526/nezopont-survey-suggests-orban-best-pm-since-1990-fidesz-retains-twothirds-support/ | archive-date = 21 May 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Role in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution==
Although the fiscal austerity package under his rule eroded his popularity heavily, the most controversial part of his life is his role after the 1956 revolution, which started on 23 October and was crushed in the days following 4 November.

At the end of October he joined the National Guard, the armed body of the revolution consisting of soldiers, policemen, and civic freedom fighters. In December he joined the "pufajkás" brigades (in [[German language|German]] ''Steppjackenbrigade''), a communist paramilitary body set up to help the invading Soviet troops restore the communist regime, and he served there until June 1957.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://hvg.hu/itthon/20070706_horn_gyula_karhatalmista_hunyadi_germuska | title = Hogyan védte a "törvényes rendet" Horn pufajkás osztaga? | date = 6 July 2007 | publisher = [[Heti Világgazdaság|HVG.hu]] |access-date = 10 July 2013}}</ref> His alleged role is controversial in some circles because such squads were accused of involvement in torturing, harassing and even executing civilians during and after the uprising.

According to him, his elder brother was killed by the revolutionists during the uprising. However, his brother's death certificate states that he died in a traffic accident in the countryside.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://mno.hu/velemeny/elment-az-utolso-szocialista-miniszterelnok-1167883 | title = Elment az utolsó szocialista miniszterelnök | publisher = [[Magyar Nemzet|MNO.hu]] |access-date = 10 July 2013}}</ref> His daughter was born on 30 October.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://444.hu/2013/06/19/horn-gyula-nem-a-szovjetekre-lott-56-ban/ | title = Horn Gyula nem a szovjetekre lőtt 56-ban | date = 19 June 2013 | publisher = 444.hu |access-date = 10 July 2013}}</ref> "The conditions were bad. The uprising released many criminals who endangered public safety. In the pufajkás squad, I defended the legal order," he told German paper ''[[Die Welt]]'' 50 years later. "First, I would like to make it clear that 1956 was not a fight against communism. Even the rebels did not want to wipe it out. This is incorrectly depicted today."<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://index.hu/belfold/horn1956/ | title = Horn: 56 nem a kommunizmus elleni harc volt | date = 21 October 2006 | publisher = [[Index.hu]] |access-date = 10 July 2013}}</ref>

Horn's precise role in crushing the revolution is unclear as the reports of his brigade have gaps; however, in 1957 he received the award "For the Worker-Peasant Power", which was only granted to those whose services earned satisfaction. After becoming prime minister, when questioned and criticized over this part of his life, he only said: "I was a pufajkás. So what?"<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20120306-a-rendszervaltas-ota-tart-a-vita-az-allambiztonsagi-iratok-kezeleserol.html | title = Nem lehet már halogatni a szembenézést a múlttal | publisher = Origo.hu |access-date = 10 July 2013}}</ref>

==Illness and death==
In August 2007, Horn was taken to hospital with severe disease. Reportedly he was treated at Honvéd Hospital of Budapest for a sleeping disorder, but other sources told he had a serious brain malformation.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.politics.hu/20071113/former-pm-recovers-from-serious-illness-resumes-smoking/ | title = Former PM recovers from serious illness, resumes smoking | publisher = Politics.hu | access-date = 22 June 2013 | date = 13 November 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140521012422/http://www.politics.hu/20071113/former-pm-recovers-from-serious-illness-resumes-smoking/ | archive-date = 21 May 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Later reported his condition worsened so much that he could not leave the hospital, and thus missed the World Political Forum which was held in Budapest, where former Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] also participated.<ref>{{Cite web| url  =http://www.politics.hu/20071127/former-prime-ministers-condition-worsens/| title  =Former prime minister's condition worsens| publisher  =Politics.hu| date  =27 November 2007| access-date  =22 June 2013| archive-url  =https://web.archive.org/web/20140521012344/http://www.politics.hu/20071127/former-prime-ministers-condition-worsens/| archive-date  =21 May 2014| url-status  =dead}}</ref>

On 9 October 2007, Hungarian daily newspaper ''[[Népszabadság]]'''s online version reported mistakenly that Horn had died.<ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.pesterlloyd.net/2007_42/0742hornerkrankt/0742hornerkrankt.html| language = de| title = Gyula Horn schwer erkrankt| work = [[Pester Lloyd]]| access-date = 22 June 2013| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111112165134/http://www.pesterlloyd.net/2007_42/0742hornerkrankt/0742hornerkrankt.html| archive-date = 12 November 2011}}</ref>

By 2008, Horn was no longer able to recognise his family members and friends as he suffered from an illness similar to [[Alzheimer's disease]]. There were also reports that Horn was in good physical condition despite the fact that he had lost significant weight. Prime Minister [[Ferenc Gyurcsány]] was one of the last senior party officials, who visited him then.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.politics.hu/20081120/former-pm-horn-suffering-from-severe-neurological-disease/ | title = Former PM Horn suffering from severe neurological disease | publisher = politics.hu | date = 20 November 2008 | access-date = 22 June 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140521012412/http://www.politics.hu/20081120/former-pm-horn-suffering-from-severe-neurological-disease/ | archive-date = 21 May 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref> On 5 July 2011, Horn's 79th birthday ''[[Népszava]]'' reported his health condition had not deteriorated but also not improved, remained stable. During this time influential MSZP leaders gave a toast to Horn on the occasion of his birthday.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.politics.hu/20110707/former-socialist-pm-horn-celebrates-79th-birthday/ | title = Former Socialist PM Horn celebrates 79th birthday | publisher = Politics.hu | date = 7 July 2011 | access-date = 22 June 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131217014105/http://www.politics.hu/20110707/former-socialist-pm-horn-celebrates-79th-birthday/ | archive-date = 17 December 2013 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

On his 80th birthday on 5 July 2012, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán greeted him in a letter. He wrote, "first of all we are Hungarians and we work towards prosperity of the nation based on our faith and the best of our knowledge. Therefore there are more links than divisions between us". The Hungarian Socialist Party also celebrated his round birthday.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.politics.hu/20120705/orban-sends-birthday-greetings-to-former-socialist-pm-gyula-horn/ | title = Orbán sends birthday greetings to former Socialist PM Gyula Horn | publisher = Politics.hu | date = 5 July 2012 | access-date = 11 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140521012433/http://www.politics.hu/20120705/orban-sends-birthday-greetings-to-former-socialist-pm-gyula-horn/ | archive-date = 21 May 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

After years of struggling with his illness, he died on 19 June 2013.<ref name="reuters"/> He was survived by his wife and daughter, Anna, and son, Gyula Jr.<ref name="abc"/>

Germany's Foreign Minister, [[Guido Westerwelle]], said Horn's "courageous work as Hungarian foreign minister will remain unforgettable to us Germans."<ref name="abc">{{Cite web | title = Former Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn Dies |first = Pablo | last = Gorondi | work= ABC News | date = 19 June 2013 | url = https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gyula-horn-hungarian-prime-minister-dies-19438047#.UcIqcype9Ok}}</ref>  Reuters called Horn, whose picture taking a wire-cutter to the fence separating Hungary and Austria was iconic, the "man who tore the iron curtain".<ref name="reuters"/>  Domestic recognition was hampered by his communist history, and commendations voted on by the Hungarian parliament were defeated on the occasions of his 70th and 75th birthdays.<ref name="abc"/>

[[Attila Mesterházy]], chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party, sent a statement to news agency [[Magyar Távirati Iroda]] (MTI) in which he wrote that "Horn will be remembered as the most defining leaders of the modern Hungarian left, one of the most successful prime ministers of Hungary and had made one of the greatest impacts on Europe during its sweeping changes over two decades ago. Horn played a key role in reviving the left and the Socialist party." Former PM Gyurcsány called Horn the "most contradictory" and "most talented" of politicians, and added in his [[Facebook]] entry: "a great man has passed away."<ref name="Politics.hu death">{{Cite web | url =http://www.politics.hu/20130620/former-prime-minister-gyula-horn-dies/ | title =Former Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn dead at 80 | publisher =Politics.hu | access-date =22 June 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131008120828/http://www.politics.hu/20130620/former-prime-minister-gyula-horn-dies/ | archive-date =8 October 2013 | url-status =dead }}</ref>

The government party Fidesz expressed condolences to Horn's family and leadership of the Hungarian Socialist party. [[Politics Can Be Different]]'s co-chair [[András Schiffer]] told MTI that "Horn was one of the most important personalities of the post-communist Hungary and is one of the few politicians whose names are likely to go down in Hungarian history." Schiffer said that "he could not identify with Horn's politics and political relations before the transition to democracy in Hungary, but it must be acknowledged that Horn had shown real humanity towards ordinary people."<ref name="Politics.hu death"/> [[Gordon Bajnai]], leader of the [[Together 2014]], said that Hungary and Europe lost a "true statesman". He added that Horn was a "symbol of a peaceful and successful regime change, and, as prime minister, he had done much to help Hungary find an exit from the post-communist economic and social crisis."<ref name="Politics.hu death"/> President [[János Áder]] also sent his condolences to Horn's widow and children.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.politics.hu/20130620/ader-expresses-condolences-over-former-pm-horns-death/ | title = Áder expresses condolences over former PM Horn's death | publisher = Politics.hu | access-date = 22 June 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140521012424/http://www.politics.hu/20130620/ader-expresses-condolences-over-former-pm-horns-death/ | archive-date = 21 May 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

===Funeral===
[[File:Horn Gyula temetése 016.JPG|thumb|right|Funeral of Gyula Horn]]
Horn received a state funeral with military honors and was buried at [[Kerepesi Cemetery|Fiume Road National Graveyard]] on 8 July 2013. Thousands of people attended the funeral, many of whom laid red carnations beside the grave. [[President of the European Parliament|European Parliament President]] [[Martin Schulz]], former [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Germany)|German Foreign Minister]] [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]], Hungarian President János Áder, former head of states László Sólyom and [[Pál Schmitt]], [[Archbishop of Esztergom|Archbishop]] [[Péter Erdő]] and former house speaker [[Katalin Szili]] were also among the attendance, as well as representatives of the main parliamentary parties.<ref name="funeral-politics.hu">{{Cite web | url = http://www.politics.hu/20130708/dignitaries-praise-horn-as-former-pm-laid-to-rest/ | title = Dignitaries praise Horn as former PM laid to rest | publisher = Politics.hu | access-date = 10 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131008095923/http://www.politics.hu/20130708/dignitaries-praise-horn-as-former-pm-laid-to-rest/ | archive-date = 8 October 2013 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, former prime ministers [[Péter Boross]], [[Péter Medgyessy]], Ferenc Gyurcsány and Gordon Bajnai, as well as party chairman Attila Mesterházy paid tribute to Horn.<ref name="funeral-politics.hu"/> When Orbán bowed his head, some in the crowd booed at the prime minister. Socialist lawmaker [[Ferenc Baja]], a former minister in the Horn government, said in a [[Facebook]] entry that this was derogative to the event.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://mandiner.hu/cikk/20130708_baja_ferenc_megkovetem_a_jelenlegi_miniszterelnokot | title = Baja Ferenc: Megkövetem a jelenlegi miniszterelnököt | publisher = Mandiner.hu |access-date = 10 July 2013}}</ref>

[[Béla Katona]], who served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2010, said the "life of Gyula Horn itself encompassed the history of the twentieth century" and he shaped the "fate of both Hungary and [[Europe]] as a whole." Katona told "Horn as a prime minister and a statesman remained an ordinary man nevertheless. He was not perfect, he made some bad decisions, but the good decisions outnumbered the bad ones. He was a successful man and a true statesman".<ref name="funeral-politics.hu"/>

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Selected publications==
* Baranyi, Mária: ''Egy előszoba titkai – Horn Gyula közelről 1994–1998''. Athenaeum Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 2010.
* Horn, Gyula: ''Cölöpök''. Zenit Könyvek, Budapest, 1991.
* Horn, Gyula: ''Azok a kilencvenes évek...''. Kossuth Kiadó, Budapest, 1999.
* Kubinyi, Ferenc: ''Vaskorona''. Edition Litfas, 1995.
* Pünkösti, Árpád: ''A Horn. Angyalföldtől a pártelnökségig 1932–1990''. Kossuth Kiadó, Budapest, 2013.
* Szerdahelyi, Szabolcs: ''Hiányzó cölöpök – Ami a Horn Gyula életrajzból kimaradt''. Kairosz Kiadó, Budapest, 2002.

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|before=[[Péter Várkonyi]]|after=[[Géza Jeszenszky]]|years=1989–1990}}
{{succession box|title=[[Prime Minister of Hungary]]|before=[[Péter Boross]]|after=[[Viktor Orbán]]|years=1994–1998}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box | before=[[Rezső Nyers]]| title=[[Hungarian Socialist Party|Chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party]] | years=1990–1998 | after=[[László Kovács (politician)|László Kovács]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{HungarianPrimeMinisters}}
{{HungarianForeignMinisters}}
{{Charlemagne Prize recipients}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horn, Gyula}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Budapest]]
[[Category:Hungarian Socialist Party politicians]]
[[Category:Hungarian Lutherans]]
[[Category:Hungarian people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]]
[[Category:Members of the Hungarian Working People's Party]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1990–1994)]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1994–1998)]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1998–2002)]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2002–2006)]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2006–2010)]]
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Hungary]]
[[Category:Jewish Hungarian politicians]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Hungary]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery]]
[[Category:Rostov State University of Economics alumni]]