János Berecz

János Berecz (18 September 1930 – 7 July 2022) was a Hungarian communist politician and ideologist, a leading member of the ruling Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP) in the 1980s. Along with Károly Grósz, he represented the party's hard-line Marxist-Leninist branch and was considered a potential candidate to succeed János Kádár as General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party.

Early life János Berecz was born into farming peasant family in Ibrány in Szabolcs County on 18 September 1930, as the son of Elek Berecz and Emília K. Fekete. He attended elementary school in his birthplace (six-grade primary) and Dombrád (four-grade state civil school) until 1946. He attended the Reformed Gymnasium of Sárospatak from 1946, then Kossuth Lajos Gymnasium of Sátoraljaújhely from 1949. He graduated from there in 1950. He attended the Faculty of Arts of the University of Debrecen since 1950.

Berecz became a secretary of the Association of Working Youth (DISZ) within the university. He joined the Hungarian Working People's Party (MDP) in 1951. He studied scientific socialism in the Eötvös Loránd University since that year, then he was a student of the Lenin Institute, which emerged from ELTE, until 1955. He served as secretary of the youth communist organization DISZ within the institute and in charge of agitation and propaganda of its party committee. In the subsequent years, he became a close associate of prime minister then general secretary Károly Grósz. Due to his staunch Marxist–Leninist politician positions, he was gradually marginalized within the party, when a peaceful transition to democracy began. He was not re-elected to the Political Committee in April 1989, then was replaced as secretary for ideology and propaganda in June 1989. He chaired the parliament's foreign affairs committee from June 1989 to May 1990.

Personal life His first wife was Annamária Lőwinger (1933–1986), deputy director of the National General Directorate of Spas. They married in 1955. They had three children, including diplomat Marianne Berecz. Annamária Lőwinger died in a car accident on 4 February 1986. Thereafter, Berecz married actress Anikó Sáfár in 1988.

János Berecz died in Budapest on 7 July 2022, at the age of 91.