‘Red Countess,’ Widow of Hungary Leader, Dies at 93

“The Red Countess,” widow of the leader of Hungary’s first, brief republic, is dead.

Katalin Karolyi was 93 when she died Wednesday in Antibes, France, the Hungarian national news agency reported.

Born Katalin Andrassy, the countess followed her husband, Mihaly, into exile in July, 1919, after Bela Kun’s communistic Republic of Councils took power.

Count Karolyi, once one of the richest men in Hungary, had been president of the Hungarian Republic formed in November, 1918, after the post-World War I breakup of the Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Distributed Land to Peasants

The countess came to be called “Red” because her husband distributed land to Hungarian peasants.

The exiled couple traveled in Western Europe before taking up residence in England in 1939. Their son, Adam, was killed while flying with the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in World War II.

They returned to Hungary in 1946 to receive special honors from Parliament. Karolyi was named ambassador to France in 1947, but he resigned three years later to protest a trial staged by Stalinists and went into exile in France. He died in 1955.

Director Istvan Kovacs’ film, “The Red Countess,” is currently being shown in Hungarian theaters where it is attracting large crowds.

Since her husband’s death, Countess Karolyi divided her time between Budapest and Antibes, where she set up a foundation in her husband’s name for young artists.

She is survived by a daughter.