The History of the Soviet Bloc 1945–1991 - A CHRONOLOGY

Research Chair, Center of Social Sciences, Institute for Political Science,
Hungarian Academy of Sciences;
Founding Director, Cold War History Research
Center, Budapest;
Professor of History, Corvinus University of Budapest
Institute of International Studies

Natalia DIMIC, Marc DRIER, Gabriella HERMANN, János KEMÉNY, Madeline KLIMEK, Anikó MAGASHÁZI, Jasper NOOIJN, Bobbie SCHOEMAKER, Lisa SPEARS, Bobbie SCHOEMAKER, Tsotne TCHANTURIA, Dániel VÉKONY

Izabel ÁCS, Chiara BERTUCCO, Noah BUYON, Megan DIBBLE, Marco GIACOMAZZI, Anusha GURUNG, Solveig HANSEN, Zsálya HAADI-NAGY, Konrad HYZY, Tomas KOLAR, Thomas KOLLMANN, Roman KOZIEL, Annamária KÓTAY-NAGY, Réka KRIZMANICS, Andrej KROKOS, Sára LAFFERTON, Marja LAHTINEN, Joseph LARSEN, András Máté LÁZÁR, Zsófia MADÁCSI, Csaba Zsolt MÁRTON, Anikó MÉSZÁROS, Oleksandr MURASHEVYCH, Tímea OKOS, Balázs OLTVÖLGYI, Roland PAPP, Dominika PROSZOWSKA, Rashid RAHIMLI, Martin ROMAIN, François ROPARS, Vjenceslav RUPCIC, Lili SIKLÓS, Marcello TOMASINA, Zita Bettina VASAS, Aniello VERDE, Dóra VERESS, Patrick Stephen WAGER, Jonathon WOODRUFF, Maciek ZAWADA, András ZÁM

The publication and the preceding research were sponsored by the Hungarian Cultural Fund

At the Cold War History Research Center we have been working on an extensive chronology of the Soviet Bloc for a number of years. The third part of the timeline contains information dealing with the period from 1968 to 1980. The years 1980–1991 will be available by the end of 2017.

The entries were compiled using mainly secondary sources so far, nevertheless, we are determined to further improve and continuously extend the chronology by including information from archival documents in the years to come. The chronology also presents data dealing with Austria, Finland and Yugoslavia. Although these countries were obviously not part of the Soviet Bloc, we still wanted to involve them since they maintained special relations with the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies.

Hungary- January 1, 1980 (HC)
The International System of Units is introduced in Hungary.

Soviet Union – January 3, 1980 (KCA)
President Carter announces that because of the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan, Senate consideration of SALT II will be deferred.

U.S. - January 3, 1980 (DKK)
Jimmy Carter informs the Senate that he will cancel the SALT-II-Contract

US / Soviet Union – January 4, 1980 (LBC)
Carter announces measures directed against the USSR: they will not deliver the wheat ordered by the Soviet Union; they will suspend the sale of high-tech products; they will severely limit the Soviets’ fishing rights on American waters; they will not open new consular facilities. According to Californian Governor Ronald Reagan, the introduction of the wheat embargo was a mistake.

Hungary- January 4-11, 1980 (HC)
The cultural week of the Federal Republic of Germany takes place in Hungary.

Soviet Union / U.S. - January 7, 1980 (DKK)
Jimmy Carter stops all wheat-exports to the Soviet Union

Hungary / Palestina – January 8-11, 1980 (HC)
Under the leadership of Executive Committee Faruk Kaddumi, the PLO delegation visits Hungary

Hungary / Poland – January 9-13, 1980 (HC)
Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs E. Kulaga visits Budapest.

Soviet Union/United States/Turkey – January 10, 1980 (KCA)
It is announced that Turkey and the United States established a draft defense agreement under which the United States will be permitted to use military bases in Turkey. The four radio and radar tracking bases were used by the US to monitor Soviet air space and radio communication in order to verify the Soviet adherence to the SALT II regime.

Hungary- January 11, 1980 (HC) see January 10
The Hungarian government releases its standpoint on the Afghan situation. It considers the Soviet intervention legitimate

Soviet Union/Afghanistan – January 12, 1980 (KCA)
President Brezhnev issues an official statement in which he defends Soviet policy in Afghanistan.

Yugoslavia – January 15, 1980 (HR)
Tito is taken to a hospital in Ljubljana. An emergency meeting of the Central Committee of the LCY takes place. All absences in the Yugoslav People’s Army and Territorial defense are canceled.

Hungary / Soviet Union – January 18, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Foreign Minister József Marjai runs negotiations in Moscow on economical connections between the two countries.

Soviet Union / U.S / Afghanistan – January 20, 1980 (KCA)
President Carter calls for a boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow.

Soviet Union - January 22, 1980 (KCA)
Adrei Sakharov, Soviet nuclear scientist and the winner of Nobel Prize in 1975, is removed from his home and sent to internal exile in the city of Gorky which is closed to any foreigners. This exile is the result of Sakharov’s signing of a statement protesting against the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The Soviet decisions cause many reactions and criticisms from Western countries.

Yugoslavia / Algeria – January 22-25, 1980 (HRN)
Algerian Prime Minister Mohamed Ben Ahmed Abdelghani visits Yugoslavia where he meets with the President of the Federal Executive Council Veselin Đuranović and Vice-President of the Presidency Lazar Koliševski. They discuss both bilateral and international issues.
Yugoslavia / Romania / Bulgaria – January 22-25, 1980 (HRN)
A meeting of the Yugoslav, Romanian and Bulgarian representatives takes place in Sofia. They discuss economic cooperation.

Hungary / Switzerland – January 22-25, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Trade Péter Veress runs negotiations in Switzerland.

Hungary / Argentina / Brazil – January 23-26, 1980 (HC)
State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pál Rácz holds consultations in Argentina and Brazil (between 27th and 30th of January).

U.S. / Persian Gulf - January 23, 1980 (DKK)
In a nationally delivered speech, Carter formulates what wold be known as the Carter Doctrine. In it, Carter declares the Persian Gulf part of the United States’ national interest and the US is willing to use military force to defend it. The speech ended an era of catharsis.

Soviet Union/United States - January 23, 1980 (KCA)
In his annual State of the Union address to Congress, President Carter underlines the need of strong reactions against the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, such as introducing economic sanctions.

Yugoslavia / Austria – January 27-28, 1980 (HRN)
Austrian Foreign Minister Willibald Pahr visits Yugoslavia and meets with the President of the Federal Executive Council Veselin Đuranović and Foreign Minister Josip Vrhovec.

Hungary – January 28-31, 1980 (HC)
The leaders of the churches of the East-European socialist countries and the World Council of Churches hold a meeting in Budapest.

Hungary / Soviet Union – January 28-30, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Trade Péter Veress visits the Soviet Union

Romania / Bavaria – January 28-29, 1980 (PER)
The Prime Minister of the Free State of Bavaria, Franz Josef Strauss, visits Romania.

Hungary / Austria – January 29, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Culture Imre Pozsgay visits Vienna for two days.

Hungary- January 29, 1980 (HC)
The new director of the Papal Hungarian Church Institute of Rome László Dankó takes an oath on the constitution.

Romania / Soviet Union – January 31- February 2, 1980 (PER)
The Soviet Foreign Minister, Andrei Gromyko, visits Romania.

Soviet Union/Argentina –End of January, 1980 (KCA)
At the end of January it is agreed that Argentina will supply up to 5,000,000 tonnes of grain to the Soviet Union in 1980.

Yugoslavia / South-East Asia – February, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhovec visits Bangladesh (February 23-24), India where he meets Indira Gandhi and other representatives (February 25-26).

Switzerland – February-March 1980 (KCA)
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) holds a review of the international patent system.

Soviet Union / Afghanistan – February 1, 1980 (KCA)
An agreement on delivery of Afghan gas is signed by the Soviet Union and Afghanistan. A protocol on trade exchange is signed the same day.

Hungary / Spain – February 3-5, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs János Nagy holds consultations in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid.

Soviet Union – February 4, 1980 (LBC)
Brezhnev reports that the Soviet Union does not want to give up the results achieved in international relations during the 1970s.

Poland – February 6, 1980 (KCA)
A warm tribute on the 75th birthday of Wladyslaw Gomułka is published by Edward Gierek “to promote a spirit of national unity”.

Hungary / Soviet Union – February 6-7, 1980 (HC)
HSWP Central Comittee Secretary András Gyenes visits Moscow.

Yugoslavia / France – February 6-7, 1980 (HRN)
French Foreign Minister Jean Francois Poncet visits Yugoslavia and meets with Josip Vrhovec.

Hungary- February 7, 1980 (HC)
The standpoint of the Hungarian Olympic Committee condemns every kind of threat of boycott in connection with the Moscow Olympic Games.

Hungary / Yugoslavia – February 11-12, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Secretary of the Executive Secretariat of the Central Presidency of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia Borislav Milojević visits Hungary with a party-delegation.

Poland – February 11-15, 1980 (KCA)
The eighth Congress of PUWP is held in Warsaw. In numerous speeches the need for national unity and fraternal relations with the Soviet Union are underlined. During the Congress some changes in the Politburo are accepted.

Hungary / Japan- February 13, 1980 (HC)
A Japanese-Hungarian tax treaty is signed in Budapest.

Yugoslavia / East Germany – February 13-15, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav delegation led by Veselin Đuranović visits East Germany, and meets with Wili Stoph and Erick Honecker.

Czechoslovakia / Hungary – February 14-15, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Finance Leopold Ler consults with Hungarian Minister of Finance Lajos Faluvégi in Győr.

Hungary/India/Japan/Philippines- February 17- March 5, 1980 (HC)
Foreign Minister Frigyes Puja visits Japan, the Philippines, and India.

Poland – February 18, 1980 (KCA)
Edward Babiuch is appointed Prime Minister, replacing Piotr Jaroszewicz who resigned because after being criticized for Poland’s poor economic performance.

Hungary / Japan – February 18-21, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja travels to Japan.

Soviet Union / UK – February 19, 1980 (KCA)
Lord Carrington, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, presents his initiative on neutral status of Afghanistan under international guarantees in return for withdrawal of Soviet troops.

Hungary / Romania – February 19-23, 1980 (HC)
Romanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantin Oancea consults in Budapest.

Soviet Union/United States- February 20, 1980 (KCA)
The final date by which the Soviet troops should be withdrawn from Afghanistan in order to avoid a boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games expires unheeded.

US / Soviet Union – February 20, 1980 (LBC)
According to the figures of the US Embassy in Moscow, Soviet-American trade in 1979 exceeded even the peak year of 1978 and reached $4.48 billion.. The US had a $2.73 billion trade surplus with the USSR. – The Pan Am airline and Citibank close their offices in Moscow. –Two Soviets scientists are denied US visas. The Soviet experts wished to attend a conference on computer technology. The visa is denied on the grounds that it would prevent the Soviet scientists from acquiring American technology.

Romania / Jordan – February 20-23, 1980 (PER)
The King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Hussein Ibn Talal, visits Romania.

Afghanistan / USSR – Febryary 22, 1980 (LBC)
Because of the crisis in Afghanistan, the number of Soviet diplomats in the US is restricted to 320.

Soviet Union/ Afghanistan- February 22, 1980 (KCA)
Soviet authorities introduce martial law in Afghanistan. Anti-Soviet and anti-government demonstrations continue in Kabul.

Hungary / Philippines – February 21-27, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja pays an official visit to the Republic of the Philippines.

Soviet Union/Afghanistan – February 22, 1980 (KCA)
Soviet authorities introduce martial law in Afghanistan. Anti-Soviet and anti-government demonstrations continue in Kabul.

Bulgaria / Hungary – February 25-28, 1980 (HC)
Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marija Zaharjeva consults in the Foreign Ministry in Budapest

Bulgaria – February 27, 1980 (KCA)
Stamen Stamenov, the Minister of Metallurgy and Mineral Resources, is appointed a Deputy Premier. Similarly, Drazha Vulcheva, the Minister of National Education, is appointed a Deputy Premier. Some governmental changes follow.

Hungary- February 28, 1980 (HC)
The Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party is in session. It condemns the steps made by NATO and the United States due to the Afghan issue.

Hungary / Thailand – February 28, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja meets the Minister of Foreign of Thailand during his trip.

Czechoslovakia / Soviet Union – February 28, 1980 (CWIHP)
The Interior Ministries of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union agree to exchange workers in fire prevention in nuclear power plants. They agree to consult each other on security matters in border regions and exchange publications regarding public security, fire-fighting, Czechoslovak criminology, and Soviet military methods.

Hungary/Soviet Union- March 4, 1980 (HC)
The Soviet General Consulate opens in Debrecen.

Hungary- March 6, 1980 (HC)
The Parliament is in session. Act no. I of 1980 about atomic energy is adopted.

West Germany – March 7-9, 1980 (KCA)
The Communist Party of Germany (KPD) votes to cease its operations as a political party.

Romania – March 9, 1980 (KCA)
Elections to the Grand National Assembly and to peoples’ councils are held. 99.99% of voters take part in the elections; 98.52% vote for the candidates nominated by the Socialist Democracy and Unity Front.

Hungary / Soviet Union – March 10-11, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Head of the State Planning Committee Nikolai Baibakov visits Hungary with a Soviet governmental delegation of economics experts.

Hungary- March 12, 1980 (HC)
Ex-Secretary of the Hungarian Working People’s Party Ernő Gerő dies.

Romania / Great Britain – March 12-14, 1980 (PER)
The British Foreign Minister, Lord Peter Alexander Rupert Carrington, visits Romania.

Soviet Union/Peru – March 12, 1980 (KCA)
Peru confirms an order for the purchase from the Soviet Union of a further 16 Su-22 fighter – bombers worth 120,000,000 USD.

Soviet Union/Afghanistan – March 13, 1980 (KCA)
The Afghan Foreign Minister Shah Mohammad Dost visits Moscow. According to a joint communiqué, practical questions concerning the occupation of Soviet troops in Afghanistan are discussed.

Hungary / France – March 17-19, 1980 (HC)
Head of French Foreign Ministry Bertrand Dufourcq (Deputy Minister rank) negotiates in Budapest.

Hungary / Soviet Union – March 17-18, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja pays an official friendly visit to the Soviet Union.

Romania / Zaire – March 17-20, 1980 (PER)
The President of the Republic of Zaire, General Mobutu Sese Seko , visits Romania to sign a friendship and collaboration pact.

Soviet Union- March 18, 1980 (CAC)
Warsaw Pact party chiefs meeting in Moscow to approve a statute on unified
forces and command in war time. However, Ceaușescu demurs, leaving the
document binding only for those who signed it.

US / Soviet Union – March 21, 1980 (LBC)
Carter announces that he has decided not to send the US team to the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

Poland – March 23, 1980 (HPB)
General elections to the Sejm (Parliament) take place. 98.8% voters take part and 99.2% of them vote for the candidates nominated by the National Unity Front.

Hungary - March 24-27, 1980 (KCA / HC)
The twelfth National Congress of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party takes place in Budapest. The main issues discussed are the economic performance of Hungary and friendly relations with the Soviet Union. On March 27, János Kádár is reelected as First Secretary of the HSWP Central Committee. Several changes in the Politburo and secretariat of the Central Committee are made.

Romania – March 28, 1980 (CEC)
The Great National Assembly reelects Nicolae Ceauşescu as President of Romania.

Yugoslavia / Hungary - March 28, 1980 (HC)
The first oil shipment arrives through the Adria oil pipeline. ( February 12, 1974; February 5, 1990)

Hungary- March 29, 1980 (HC)
The new section of the North-South metro line is opened in Budapest between Nagyvárad Square and Kőbánya-Kispest (à December 31, 1976).

Hungary- in March, 1980 (HC)
An opposition leaflet “Notice to Support the Hungarian Poor” is published.

Romania – April, 1980 (KCA)
Romania and East European countries reach an agreement allowing tourists to purchase oil on Romanian territory.

Soviet Union/Afghanistan – April 1, 1980 (KCA)
The Soviet Union signs an agreement on the delivery of consumer goods to Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.

Soviet Union – April 1-3, 1980 (MMS)
COMECON Executive Committee (94th session) takes place in Moscow.

Poland – April 2, 1980 (KCA)
The newly elected Sejm assembles, and Henryk Jabłoński (PUWP) is re-elected as the Chairman of the Council of State.

Yugoslavia / EEC – April 2, 1980 (HRN)
A cooperation treaty is signed between Yugoslavia and EEC in Brussel.

Hungary - April 4, 1980 (HC)
A military parade and youth procession take place in Budapest in honor of the city’s liberation in WWII.
Hungary - April 6, 1980 (HC)
Summer time is introduced in Hungary as well.
Yugoslavia / Austria – April 8-10, 1980 (HRN)
Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky visits Yugoslavia and meets with the Vice-President of the Presidency Lazar Koliševski and Vladimir Bakarić.
Czechoslovakia / Hungary – April 9-12, 1980 (HC)
Minister for Transport and Postal Services Árpád Pullai runs negotiations in Prague.

Romania / Hungary - April 11, 1980 (HC / CEC)
The building of the General Consulate of the Hungarian People’s Republic is opened in Cluj/Kolozsvár. (June 28, 1988)

Hungary / Vatican - April 21-28, 1980 (HC)
Papal Nuncio Luigi Poggi negotiates in Hungary.
Hungary - April 22-23, 1980 (HC)
A national meeting on history and literature education takes place.

East Germany – April 23, 1980 (KCA)
East Germany and Iran sign a bilateral economic and trade agreement.

East Germany / Soviet Union / Cuba – April 25, 1980 (CWIHP)
A discussion between Castro and Honecker regarding bilateral relations, US-Cuban relations, and Soviet-Cuban relations takes place.

Albania- April 26, 1980 (KCA)
Several changes in the Council of Ministers are introduced at a meeting of Presidium of the Albanian People’s Assembly.

Austria / Hungary - April 26-27, 1980 (HC)
Chairman of the Council of Ministers György Lázár pays a visit to Austria.

Soviet Union – April 29, 1980 (KCA)
Amnesty International publishes a report called “Prisoners of Conscience in the USSR: Their Treatment and Conditions,” in which it is claimed that over 400 people were imprisoned for exercising human rights since the last report in November 1975. Particular pressure from the Soviet authorities was experienced by the Helsinki Groups, formed to monitor Soviet adherence to the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference. Members of numerous religious groups were also charged with different accusations such as calling illegal meetings, in spite of the right of freedom of religion in the Soviet Union. Throughout the year 1979, a record total of 51,320 Jews left the Soviet Union. A number of activists from the ethnic minorities are arrested and put on trial; the same policy of harassment and arrests applies to writers and artists. In response to this treatment a number of Soviet citizens, mainly artists and sportsmen defect from the Soviet Union and apply for political asylum in other countries.

West Germany/East Germany – April 30, 1980 (KCA)
The governments of East Germany and West Germany sign three agreements under which West Germany is to provide a total of 282,000,000 USD for the improvement of road, rail and motorway links between the two states and between West Berlin and the Federal Republic.

Poland – May 1980 (HPB)
In answer to difficulties in providing supplies of meat, the Party makes a decision to extend the trade on commercial prices. Isolated strikes and demonstrations break out in different places in Poland. In July, 177 workplaces go on strike. Authorities decide to fight the demonstrations by raising the salaries of the workers. On August 14 the occupational strike is announced in Gdańsk, under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa. The demands are accepted by the authorities on August 16 but the strikes continue generating new, mainly political, demands. It is decided that force should not be used, only peaceful methods. A complete block on information going to and from Gdańsk is imposed and a few of the workers are arrested.

Yugoslavia- May 4, 1980 (KCA)
Marshal Josip Broz Tito, the President of Yugoslavia, President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, dies in Ljubljana.

Hungary / Finland – May 6-8, 1980 (HC)
State Secretary of the Finnish Foreign Ministry Paavo Rantanen runs negotiations in Budapest on foreign trade affairs.

Hungary / Yugoslavia / East Germany – May 7-8, 1980 (HC)
Under the leadership of First Secretary of the HSWP’s Central Committee János Kádár, a party and governmental delegation participates in LYC Chairman and Yugoslavian President Josip Broz Tito’s funeral in Belgrade. On the 8th, Kádár consultates with Executive Chairman of the LYC Central Committee Presidency Stevan Doronjski in Belgrade and Erich Honecker, General Secretary of the Central Committe of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and Chairman of the State of Council of GDR.

Poland – May 7-8, 1980 (KCA)
Roman Catholics bishops in Poland issue a statement in which they express their criticism of the political repression in the country.

Soviet Union / U.S / Afghanistan - May 9, 1980 (KCA)
All U.S. journalists are expelled from the country and numerous changes follow in internal politics, such as amnesty for political prisoners or dissolving the secret police and replacing it with a different organization. In response, the United States not only defers from ratifying the SALT II but also introduces a number of sanctions against the Soviet Union, among others embargo on grain and suspension of transfer of any technology to the Soviet Union. While criticized by the Western countries, action of the Soviet Union is strongly supported by the Eastern Europe, especially by Bulgaria, East Germany and Czechoslovakia. At the beginning of January the United States announces that they will increase their presence in the Indian Ocean.

Yugoslavia / Romania – May 9-11 (1980)
Yugoslav politician Stane Dolanc visits Romania, and meets with Nicolae Ceausescu.

Romania / North Korea – May 9-12, 1980 (PER)
The President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kim Il-sung, visits Romania.

Soviet Union / U.S.– May 9, 1980 (KCA)
President Carter delivers a speech before the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia in which he stresses the détente with the Soviet Union as the main goal of American foreign policy.

West Germany – May 10, 1980 (KCA)
A former Libyan diplomat, Omran el-Mehdawi is shot dead in a shopping center in Bonn.

Warsaw Pact / Poland / Hungary - May 13-15, 1980 (HC)
A party and government delegation led by First Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party János Kádár travels to Warsaw to a meeting of the Political Consultative Committee of the members of the Warsaw Treaty (Members: Chairman of the Council of Ministers György Lázár, Foreign Minister Frigyes Puja, General and Minister of Defense Lajos Czinege.) They warn the state leaders of all regions of the world about the timeliness of a meeting on the highest level.
Hungary - May 15, 1980 (HC)
The international seminar of the International Peace Conference on détente takes place in Budapest.
Yugoslavia / West Germany – May 15, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhunec meets with Foreign Minister of West Germany Hans Dietrich Genscher in Vienna. They talk about both bilateral and international issues.
Austria / Hungary - May 16-17, 1980 (HC)
Foreign Minister Frigyes Puja pays a visit to Vienna for the celebrations organized for the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Austrian State Treaty.

Soviet Union / Poland /U.S. / France – May 18-19, 1980 (KCA)
French President Giscard d’Estaing visits Poland to talk with the Soviet representatives, namely with General Secretary of the CPSU Brezhnev about international security. Talks between high-ranking representatives of the United States and the Soviet Union take place in May in Vienna.

Hungary / Libya – May 19-21, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Róbert Garai consults in the Libyan Foreign Ministry.

Soviet Union – May 20-23, 1980 (MMS)
Warsaw Pact Military Council takes place in Moscow.

Czechoslovakia – May 22, 1980 (VVR)
Gustáv Husák is re-elected as President of Czechoslovakia.

Hungary / Soviet Union – May 26-June 3, 1980 (HC)
As part of the Interkosmos-programme, first Soviet-Hungarian spacemission begins. Cosmonauts are Bertalan Farkas and Valery Kubasov.

Yugoslavia /Africa and Asia – May 26-June 11, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhovec visits Algeria (May 26-27), Zambia (May 31-June 1), Tanzania (June 1-3), Sri Lanka (June, 4-6), Indonesia (June, 7-10), Singapore (June, 11), and India (June, 11).

Hungary / Switzerland - May 28, 1980 (HC)
A Hungarian-Swiss pharmaceutical joint venture is set up in Debrecen.

East Germany / Poland / Vietnam– June 1980 (CWIHPIP)
East German representatives report on the 11th Interkit meeting held in Poland; it has been the first meeting attended by the Vietnamese.

East Germany / Hungary – June 1-15, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of GDR Bernhard Neuegebauer pays an official visit to Budapest.

East Germany / Hungary – June 3-6, 1980 (HC)
HSWP Political Committe member and Central Committe Secretary Károly Németh participates in a meeting in Berlin along with other Committee Secretaries from socialist countries.

East Germany – June 4, 1980 (KCA)
Werner Schmieder is appointed Minister of Finance. On May 23, Horst Dohlus is elected to full membership of the Politburo

Soviet Union / Afghanistan – June 7-15, 1980 (KCA)
The Security Council of the United Nations issues a resolution for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

Hungary – June 8, 1980 (KCA)
National elections to the Hungarian National Assembly are held. 99.3% of voters vote for the candidates nominated by the Patriotic People’s Front. Elections to local government assemblies are held on the same day. A new Council of Ministers (under György Lázár as Chairman) is approved by the new Hungarian National Assembly.

Romania / France – June 8-9, 1980 (PER)
The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Francois Poncet, visits Romania.

Hungary / North Korea – June 8-11, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vencel Házi consultates in Pyongyang in the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Hungary / West Germany – June 9-10, 1980 (HC)
FRG Foreign Ministry Executive Director Klaus Blech consultates in Budapest.

Czechoslovakia / Hungary – June 11-14, 1980 (HC)
Czechoslovakian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Miloš Vejvoda negotiates in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest.

Bulgaria / Hungary – June 11-14, 1980 (HC)
Bulgarian Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Andrei Lukanov negotiates in Budapest.

Bulgaria / Hungary – June 14-21, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Education Károly Polinszky travels to Sofia to participate on the regional UNESCO-conference for the European Ministers of Education.

Soviet Union – June 15, 1980 (MMS
The representatives of parliaments within the Soviet bloc meet in Minsk.

Czechoslovakia – June 16-17, 1980 (MMS)
The 34th summit of COMECON takes place in Prague

Hungary / USA – June 16-18, 1980 (HC)
US Foreign Affairs Ministry member Rozanne Ridgeway holds consultations in the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Czechoslovakia / Comecon - June 17-19, 1980 (HC)
The 34th session of the Comecon takes place in Prague. Agreements on the development of the processing of petroleum products and the joint development of computer science are signed.
Hungary - June 17, 1980 (HC)
Lénárd Pál is the new Secretary-General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Soviet Union/Iran – June 20, 1980 (KCA)
The Soviet Union and Iran sign an oil agreement.

Poland – June 23, 1980 (KCA)
Edward Barszcz is appointed Minister of Building and the Building Materials Industry, replacing Adam Glazur.

Romania / France – July 23-26, 1980 (PER)
The Ceauşescu couple visits France to hold discussions with the French President, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing.

Yugoslavia/U.S. - June 24-25, 1980 (KCA)
President Carter visits Yugoslavia. He expresses American support for the “independence, non-alignment and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia”. In a joint communiqué, the leaders of both countries call for respect for U.N. Charter rules. During the visit the negotiations on Yugoslavia purchasing advanced defensive armament from the United States take place.

Hungary - June 24, 1980 (HC)
The Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party is in session. Topic: personal questions related to the inaugural session of the Parliament.

Soviet Union – June 25-26, 1980 (KCA)
During the ministerial meeting of the NATO Council, concern over Afghanistan and a growth of military power of the Warsaw Treaty Organization is expressed.

East Germany / Romania – June 26, 1980 (KCA)
East Germany and Romania sign a five-year trade protocol during a three day visit to Bucharest by Erich Honecker, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party.

Hungary - June 27, 1980 (HC)
The inaugural session of the Parliament takes place. The officials of the Presidential Council, the government and the Parliament are elected. Chairman of the Presidential Council: Pál Losonczi; Chairman of the Council of Ministers: György Lázár; Speaker of the Parliament: Antal Apró.
The new government is formed. Chairman of the Council of Ministers: György Lázár; Deputy Chairmen: György Aczél; János Borbándi; Lajos Faluvégi; József Marjai. The ministers are the following: domestic trade: Vilmos Sághy, domestic affairs: István Horváth, healthcare: Emil Schultheisz, construction and urban development: József Bondor, defense: Lajos Czinege, justice: Imre Markója, furnace and engineering industry: István Soltész, light industry: Jánosné Keserű, transportation and post: Árpád Pullai, international trade: Péter Veress, foreign affairs: Frigyes Puja, agriculture and catering: Jenő Váncsa, labor: Ferenc Trethon, public education: Imre Pozsgay, heavy industry: Pál Simon, financial affairs: István Hetényi. Chairman of the National Planning Bureau: Lajos Faluvégi.

Romania – June 30, 1980 (KCA)
Amnesty International claims in its report that the measures adopted by the Romanian authorities against dissidents have increased in recent years.

Hungary - June 30, 1980 (HC)
There is a bus accident in Siófok (19 victims).
Yugoslavia / Czechoslovakia – June 30-July 3, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhovec visits Czechoslovakia.

Soviet Union / West Germany – June 30-July 1, 1980 (KCA)
The West German Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt visits Moscow. Main issues in talks are Afghanistan and deployment of nuclear weapon in Western Europe by NATO. The Soviet Union express readiness to negotiate on nuclear arms limitations in Europe.

Poland – July –September, 1980 (KCA)
Poland experiences significant productivity losses due to a wave of industrial unrest.

US / Soviet Union – July, 1980 (LBC)
From the election platform of the Republican Party: “For three and a half years the Carter administration has been without a coherent strategic concept to guide foreign policy oblivious to the scope and magnitude of the threat posed to our security, and devoid of competence to provide leadership and direction to the free world. The administration’s conduct of foreign policy has undermined our friends abroad, and led our most dangerous adversaries to miscalculate the willingness of the American people to resist aggression. Republicans support a policy of peace through strength; weakness provokes aggression…The evidence of the Soviet threat to American security has never been more stark and unambiguous, nor has any President ever been more oblivious to this threat and its potential consequences.”

Soviet Union / Norway - July 1, 1980 (KCA)
The Norwegian-Soviet provisional agreement on fishing in a “grey zone” of the Barents Sea is extended for a further year.

Hungary / Romania - July 1, 1980 (HC)
A Romanian-Hungarian border crossing point is opened in Csengersima.
Switzerland / Hungary - July 2-5, 1980 (HC)
Foreign Minister Frigyes Puja travels to Switzerland.
Hungary / Czechoslovakia - July 2, 1980 (HC)
The renovated Danube Bridge at Komárom is opened.

Hungary / Belgium – July 3-25, 1980 (KCA)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs participates on the 2th session of ECOSOC in Genf.

Bulgaria – July, 6, 1980 (KCA)
Bulgaria signs a bilateral trade agreement with Iran under which the imports of Iranian oil were increased.

Yugoslavia – July 6, 1980 (HR)
The Federal Executive Council states in its report to the Federal Assembly that Yugoslavia has serious economic problems, most notably excessive import and debt.

Yugoslavia / Non-Aligned Movement – July 7-9, 1980 (HN)
A meeting of the coordinating countries for food and agriculture of the NAM takes place in Belgrade.

Hungary / Poland – July 8-9, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja pays a friendly visit to the People’s Republic of Poland.

Hungary / Spain - July 8-9, 1980 (HC)
The inaugural meeting of the Hungarian-Spanish Technological Joint Committee takes place in Budapest.
Hungary - July 10, 1980 (HC)
An Economic Committee is established at a government meeting to coordinate the governmental tasks relating to the implementation of the people’s economic plans and to control international relations. ( January 14, 1988) The scope of the Minister of Education’s tasks is determined.
Yugoslavia / Italy, San Marino, and Vatican – July 10-11, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Prime Minister Josip Vrhovec visits Italy and meets Sandro Pertini and Francesco Cossiga. He later visits Vatican (July 13), and San Marino (June 13-14). He is received by Pope John Paul II.

Hungary / Soviet Union – July 10-12, 1980 (HC)
Chairman of the State Planning Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Lajos Faluvégi run negotiations in Moscow.

Hungary - July 13-19, 1980 (HC)
The 28th Physiological World Congress holds its session in Budapest.
Hungary / Yugoslavia - July 14-15, 1980 (HC)
Head of the Federal Executive Council of the Yugoslavian Socialist Federal Republic Veselin Đuranović pays an official friendly visit to Hungary.

Hungary / Poland – July 14-17, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Károly Szarka visits Warsaw.

Yugoslavia / Iraq – July 16-18, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav delegation led by Veselin Đuranović visits Iraq to attend the annual celebrations of the Iraqi revolution in 1958.

Yugoslavia / West Germany – July 17-19, 1980 (HRN)
West German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher visits Yugoslavia, and meets with Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhunec, and other Yugoslav representatives.

Soviet Union - July 19 – August 3, 1980 (KCA)
The 22nd Olympic Games are held in Moscow. 81 countries participate and 62 countries stay away, mainly because of American call for boycotting the Games in answer to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

West Germany – July 21 – 1980 (KCA)
The Council of the Western European Union (WEU) – comprising Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom agree to abolish with immediate effect WEU protocol restrictions on the permitted size of West Germany warships.

Romania / France – July 23-26, 1980 (KCA / PER)
President Ceauşescu visits France to hold discussions with the French President, Valéry Giscard d’Estating. The emphasis is put on the development of economic cooperation.

Soviet Union / Hungary - July 23-25, 1980 (HC)
First Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party János Kádár travels to the Crimea where he meets with General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev.
Soviet Union / West Germany – July 24, 1980 (KCA)
The Soviet Union criticizes the decision to lift the size restrictions on West German warships made by the Western European Union.

Hungary / Soviet Union – July 24, 1980 (HC)
First Secretary of the HSWP Central Committee János Kádár consults with Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in the Crimea.

East Germany / Hungary – July 27-30, 1980 (HC)
State Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of GDR Herbert Krolikowski consults in Budapest. Krolikowski visits again in August.

Yugoslavia / Poland – July 28-30, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhovec visits Poland, and meets with the Prime Minister of Poland Emil Wojtaszek, and other Polish representatives.

Hungary / France - July 30-31, 1980 (HC)
French Foreign Minister Jean Francois-Poncet negotiates in Hungary.

West Germany – July – August, 1980 (KCA)
Iraqi diplomats are expelled from West Berlin following the discovery of an alleged attempted explosion at a meeting of Kurdish students in West Berlin.

Hungary / Netherlands – August 3-9, 1980 (HC)
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Christoph van der Klaauw visits Hungary for private purposes. On the 9th of August, he consults with Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja.

Romania / Soviet Union – August 4, 1980 (PER)
Ceauşescu holds discussions with Brezhnev in Crimea.

Hungary / US - August 4, 1980 (HC)
Chairman of the Council of Ministers György Lázár and Speaker of the Parliament Antal Apró receive the new ambassador of the United States Harry Earl Bergold at an introductory visit.
US / Soviet Union – August 5, 1980 (LBC)
It is announced that in his Directive Number 59 President Carter ordered the implementation of a new nuclear strategy. Accordingly, the US will put priority on atomic strikes against military targets, while earlier the emphasis was on industrial and urban centers. According to Brzezinski and Brown, the Soviets discard the principle of MAD and believe that a nuclear war can be won. – According to TASS the new American nuclear policy is “madness” and was worked out by people who have lost all contact with the world and are ready to drive the world into nuclear conflict. According to the Soviet evaluation, the new doctrine gives up the principle of MAD.
Cuba / Hungary – August 5-7, 1980 (HC)
Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs J. R. Viera Linares negotiates in Budapest.

Yugoslavia / Spain – August 6-22, 1980 (HRN)
General Secretary of the Spanish Communist Party Santiago Carrillo visits Yugoslavia on holiday. He meets with the leading figures of the LCY.

Yugoslavia / North Korea – August 7-15, 1980 (HRN)
Foreign Minister of North Korea Ho Dam visits Yugoslavia, where he meets with Josip Vrhovec.

Yugoslavia / Italy – August 7-22, 1980 (HRN)
Enrico Berlinguer makes a visit to Yugoslavia, during which he meets with the Chairman of the Presidency of Yugoslavia Stevan Doronjski.

Hungary - August 11-16, 1980 (HC)
The international meeting of librarians takes place in Budapest regarding the increase of Hungarian book collections abroad.

Hungary / Belgium – August 11-24, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Imre Hollai participates in the second conference for the re-examination of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in Genf.

Soviet Union / United States – August 11-14, 1980 (KCA)
The 38th National Convention of the Democratic Party approves a new policy, according to which attempts at developing relations with the Soviet Union are a foreing policy priority. Both a strong American response to the illegal Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and signing SALT II are said to serve national interests of the United States.

East Germany – August 14, 1980 (KCA)
East Germany and Ethiopia ratify their treaty of friendship and cooperation.

Poland / US – August 14, 1980 (LBC)
Workers’ strikes of a huge scale begin in Poland. Members of the opposition are arrested in response. – August 21. The State Department expresseshope that the arrested persons will soon be released. Polish-American leaders criticize the Carter administration’s mild response. Polish and East European groups express that they are “greatlydisappointed by the passive and limited response of the State Department” to the struggle of Polish workers.

Poland - August 14 - 31 1980 (HC)
Strikes break out in Poland for better circumstances of life and for the establishment of a new independent trade union

Hungary - August 16, 1980 (HC)
György Ránki is elected as member of the Presidium of the International Historical Committee at the 15th Historians’ Congress in Bucharest.

Poland – August 18, 1980 (HPB)
Edward Gierek appears on TV calling for an end to the strike and announces that prices and salaries will be changed. On the same day, however, workers from Szczecin join in the strike, and in the following days more work places follow suit. As a result of these events, some changes are made in the composition of the Party’s committee.

US / Soviet Union – August 20, 1980 (LBC)
According to Secretary of Defense Brown, the USA’s one thousand Minuteman ICBMs are vulnerable to a Soviet first strike. According to the Secretary of State the Soviets will be able to destroy a part of the Minuteman missiles in a year.

East Germany / West Germany – August 22, 1980 (KCA)
It is announced in Bonn that a meeting between representatives of West and East Germany scheduled for August 28-29 is cancelled.

Poland – August 22, 1980 (LBC)
Poland receives $325 million in aid from Western banks.

Poland – August 24, 1980 (KCA) see September 5-6.
Edward Babiuch is replaced by Józef Pińkowski as Prime Minister, and Edward Gierek by Stanislaw Kania as the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers’ Party. These decisions are caused by a serious national crisis where a series of striked occurred, following a rise in meat prices.

Hungary / UN / USA – August 25-September 5, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Imre Hollai participates in the 11th summit of the UN General Assembly in New York.

East Germany/West Germany – August 28-29, 1980 (KCA)
The meeting between Helmut Schmidt – the West German Federal Chancellor – and Erich Honecker, Party (SED) leader and Chairman of the Council of State is cancelled.

Poland – August 29, 1980 (HPB)
Miners from Silesia join in the strikes. At this time 21 demands have already been specified and presented to the authorities. They are accepted on August 31 when an agreement is reached and signed. Out of 21 points, seven have political content: the legalization of workers’ unions; the right to strike; respect for freedom of speech and religion; amnesty for all political prisoners; publishing information about the creation of the Strike Committee; providing society with true and full information and enabling all social groups to discuss reforms. Among the other demands are: a raise in salaries; provision of the national market with supplies and the export of only additional commodities; lowering the pension age; providing workers with medical care; ensuring enough places for children in kindergartens; shortening workers’ waiting time for a flat; and making Saturdays work free.

US / Poland / USSR – August 29, 1980 (LBC)
Carter urges Western help to Poland. US trade unions send money to the Polish trade union although Secretary of State Edmund Muskie warned that the Soviet Union probably deliberately misinterprets the aid.

Poland / Soviet Union – Fall 1980 (UNW)
In line with the Brezhnev Doctrine, the Soviet Union begins concentrating its army on the Eastern border of Poland.

Hungary - September 1-5, 1980 (HC)
The Executive Committee of the International Sociological Association is in session in Budapest.

Poland – September 2, 1980 (KCA)
The International Labor Organization expresses approval of the agreements signed in Gdańsk, saying it is “a remarkable and real victory” of the Polish labor movement.

Romania / Greece – September 3-6, 1980 (PER)
The Greek Prime Minister, Konstantinos Karamanlis, visits Romania.

Yugoslavia / Zambia – September 3-8, 1980 (HRN)
Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda visits Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia / Sweden – September 4-6, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav delegation led by Veselin Đuranović visits Sweden. The delegation is received by king Gustaf of Sweden as well as by Prime Minister and President of the Swedish Parliament.

Czechoslovakia / Hungary – September 5, 1980 (HC)
Minister for Transport and Postal Services Árpád Pullai travels to Prague.

Hungary / Romania – September 5, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Trade Péter Veress negotiates in Nagyvárad, Romania.

Poland – September 5-6, 1980 (HPB) see August 24; which is correct?
Edward Gierek is declared seriously ill and taken to hospital. He is dismissed from the office of the First Secretary and replaced by Stanisław Kania.

US /Soviet Union / Afghanistan – September 7, 1980 (LBC)
Secretary of State Muskie announces that the US is ready for the technical preparatory talks of Soviet-American negotiations on the limitation of intermediate nuclear missiles. Muskie’s announcement is a response to Brezhnev’s letter to Western heads of government in which the Soviet leader complained that the West did not react to Soviet initiatives for the reduction of nuclear missiles in Europe. Muskie expresses his sentiment that the Senate will ratify the SALT treaty even if the USSR fails to withdraw from Afghanistan.

East Germany / Hungary – September 8-12, 1980 (HC)
Colonel General and Minsiter of Defence Lajos Czinege visits GDR.

Romania– September 9-10, 1980 (MMS)
The Deputy Foreign Ministers of the socialist countries meet in Bucharest.

Soviet Union – September 10, 1980 (KCA)
Mikhail Shkabardnya is appointed as Minister of Instrument Making, Means of Automation and Control Systems.

Hungary / West Germany – September 10-12, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja visits the FRG.

Hungary / UK – September 10-12, 1980 (HC)
British Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs J. Bullard holds a meeting in Budapest in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Hungary / Algeria / Cyprus / Ethiopia / Mozambique / Nigeria / Tansania / Yemen / Zambia – September 10-27, 1980 (HC)
During his African trip, HSWP’s Political Committe member and Head of Council of the People’s Republic Pál Losonczi consults with: President Spiros Kiprianu in Cyprus (10th of September); President Ali Nasser Mohamed in Yemen (10-11th of September); President Mengistu in Ethiopia (11-17); in Tanzania (17-22); in Mozambique (22-24); in Zambia (24-26); President Alex Ekwueme in Nigeria (26); and President Chadli Bendjedid in Algeria (26-27th of September).

Hungary / Austria – September 12-13, 1980 (HC)
Austrian Minister for Transport and Postal Services Karl Lausecker holds consultations in Budapest.

Hungary / Vietnam – September 12-14, 1980 (HC)
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Co Thach negotiates in Hungary.

Romania/Mozambique – September 13-17, 1980 (KCA)
President Machel pauys an official visit to Romania.

Poland –September 14, 1980 (KCA)
The Polish news agency PAP announces that there are a new set rules applying to trade unions: any trade union is obliged to register with the Warsaw court giving a list of its members and an outline of its activities.

Hungary / Soviet Union – September 15-16, 1980 (HC)
Hungarian Minister of Finance István Hetényi spends two days in Moscow.

Czechoslovakia / Hungary – September 15-17, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs István Roska negotiates in Prague.

Hungary / India – September 15-17, 1980 (HC)
Indian Minister of Foreign Trade Pranab Khumer Mukherji runs negotiations in Budapest.

Yugoslavia / SWAPO – September 15-18, 1980 (HRN)
SWAPO leader Sam Nujoma visits Yugoslavia. He meets with Sergej Krajger and other Yugoslav representatives.

Poland - September 18, 1980 (HC)
The National Commission of Independent Self-governing Trade Unions “Solidarity” is established in Gdańsk (president: Lech Walesa).

Hungary / Indonesia – September 18-21, 1980 (HC)
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mochtar Kusumaatmadja spends three days in Hungary.

Yugoslavia / Cuba – September 18-21, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhunec visits Cuba.

Albania - September 19, 1980 (KCA)
Several changes in the Council of Ministers are introduced at a meeting of the Presidium of the Albanian People’s Assembly.

US / Soviet Union / France – September 19, 1980 (LBC)
The US protests against a $300 million contract the French Schneider Creusot company signed with the Soviet Union for the construction of a steel plant in the USSR. In the US’s view, the contract violates the commercial sanctions in force against the Soviets.

Yugoslavia / Soviet Union – September 19-24, 1980 (HRN)
An official delegation of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union visits Yugoslavia, and meets with the representatives of the Federal Executive Council. A treaty regarding the long-term economic and scientific cooperation is signed.

Poland – September 21, 1980 (HPB)
The Trade Union of Farmers in Poland is officially established.

Hungary / Mozambique / Zambia – September 22-24, 1980 (HC) see September 10—27 also
HSWP’s Political Committe member and Chairman of the Presidential Council Pál Losonczi pays an official friendly visit to the People’s Republic of Mozambique, then spends a few days (24-26th) in the Republic of Zambia.

Poland – September 24, 1980 (HPB)
The Independent Students Union is created.

Yugoslavia / Great Britain – September 24-26, 1980 (HRN)
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visits Yugoslavia. She meets with Cvijetin Mijatović and Veselin Đuranović.

Hungary / Greece – September 23-24, 1980 (HC)
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Trade Péter Veress runs negotiations in Greece.

Hungary / Soviet Union – September 25-26, 1980 (HC)
State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs János Nagy negotiates in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.

West Germany – September 26, 1980 (KCA)
At least 13 people are killed and over 200 injured in an explosion at Munich’s October Festival.

Poland – September 28, 1980 (HPB)
A non-governmental trade union, Solidarity, is officially registered by a court in Warsaw.

Hungary / Poland – September 28-30, 1980 (HC)
Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marian Dobrielski consults with the leaders of Hungarian diplomacy in Budapest.

Hungary / Vatican - September 29, 1980 (HC)
Under-Secretary of the Vatican and Cardinal Agostino Casaroli negotiates in Hungary He is received by First Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party János Kádár and Chairman of the Presidential Council Pál Losonczi.

Poland / Soviet Union – Autumn 1980 (UNW)
In line with the Brezhnev Doctrine, the Soviet Union begins concentrating its army on the Eastern border of Poland, after becoming irritated by the indecisiveness of the Polish leadership and the fulfillment of all of the Polish workers’ demands.

Hungary / France – October 1-3, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Culture Imre Pozsgay travels to France.

Japan / Hungary - October 1, 1980 (HC)
A Japanese-Hungarian trade framework agreement is signed for 5 years.
Hungary - October 2, 1980 (HC)
The Presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences negotiates the suggestions of the 6th five-year plan.

Hungary / UN / USA – October 3-7, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja participates on the XXXV session of the UN General Assembly in New York. During thise time he consults with UN General Secretary Kurt Waldheim and Czechoslovakian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bohuslav Chňoupek

West Germany – October 5, 1980 (KCA)
In the general elections to the Bundestag (Lower House of the Federal Parliament) the Social Democratic/Free Democratic coalition which was in office since 1969, increased its parliamentary majority by obtaining a total of 271 of the 497 seats.

Poland - October 6, 1980 (KCA)
Several members of the PUWP Central Committee were dismissed on Stefan Olszowski’s recommendation at a session of the Central Committee.

Poland – October 8, 1980 (KCA)
The Sejm approves a constitutional amendment that increases its power by giving it direct control over the Supreme Chamber of Control.

Vatican / Hungary - October 8, 1980 (HC)
Pope John Paul II consecrates the Hungarian chapel in the crypt of the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Hungary - October 8, 1980 (HC)
An international academic session is held in Debrecen on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Gábor Bethlen.

Romania – October 11, 1980 (CEC)
The Council of State passes a decree stating that every psychiatric patient is dangerous.

Soviet Union / US – October 14, 1980 (LBC)
Brezhnev invites the US for bilateral talks before “it’s too late”. He made the statement to Armand Hammer, whom Brezhnev informed he was willing to do anything short of accepting US military superiority to improve Soviet-American relations.

Czechoslovakia – October 15-17, 1980 (MMS)
The Warsaw Pact Military Council takes place in Prague.

Yugoslavia/North Korea – October 15-18, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav delegation led by Petar Stambolić makes an official visit to North Korea. During the visit Stambolić meets with Kim Il Sung.

Hungary - October 16, 1980 (HC)
The Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party is in session. (Topic: the new order of paying the fee of party membership.)

Poland – October 18, 1980 (MMS)
The Deputy Foreign Ministers of the socialist states meet in Warsaw.

Yugoslavia – October 20, 1980 (KCA)
Lazar Mojsov is elected as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY).

Yugoslavia / Romania – October 22-24, 1980 (HRN)
Nicolae Ceausescu makes an official visit to Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia / PLO – October 26-28, 1980 (HRN)
Yasser Arafat visits Yugoslavia, and meets with Yugoslav representatives.

Hungary / UK - October 27-29, 1980 (HC)
British Foreign Minister Lord Carrington negotiates in Hungary.
Yugoslavia – October 29, 1980 (HR)
The Federal Assembly votes in favor of constitutional changes. The President of the Federal Executive Council cannot be elected more than once consecutively, and the members of the Federal Executive Council cannot be elected more than twice consecutively. All other federal executives are limited to one year in office.
Hungary - October 31, 1980 (HC)
The Tisza Oil Refinery is opened in Leninváros [Lenintown] (today’s Tiszaújváros).

Yugoslavia / Non-Aligned Movement – November 2-3, 1980 (HN)
A meeting of six foreign ministers of non-aligned countries takes place in Belgrade. The foreign ministers of Cuba, India, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Zambia, and the PLO discuss the possibilities for a peaceful solution to the Iran-Iraq war.

US - November 4, 1980 (HC)
The Republican Candidate, Ronald Reagan, is elected as President of the United States.
East Germany / Soviet Union / Poland, November 4 – 1980 (CWIHP)
Leonid Brezhnev writes to East German leader Erich Honecker regarding the Polish Crisis, suggesting a reduction of oil shipments to the GDR in order to alleviate Poland’s economic crisis

Yugoslavia / South and Central America – November 5-20, 1980 (HRN)
Member of the Presidency of SFRY Sergej Krajger visits Colombia (November 5-9), Ecuador (November 9-12), Peru (November 12-16), Panama (November 16), and Nicaragua (November 16-20).

Yugoslavia / Greece – November 5-6, 1980 (HRN)
Greek President Konstantin Karamanlis visits Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia / China – November 6-10, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav delegation led by Veselin Đuranović makes an official visit to China.

Romania / Sweden – November 6-10, 1980 (PER)
The Ceauşescu couple visits Sweden, where they are received by King Carol Gustav XVI, and his wife Queen Silvia. They also have discussions with the Swedish Prime Minister, Thorbjörn Falldin.

Yugoslavia / Austria – November 7-10, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhovec visits Austria, and meets with Willibald Pahr

Romania / Norway – November 10-13, 1980 (PER)
The Ceauşescu couple visits Norway, where they are received by King Olav V of Norway. They also hold discussions with the Prime Minister of Norway, Odvar Nordli.

Hungary / Bulgaria - November 10-12, 1980 (HC)
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Petar Mladenov is staying in Budapest.
Czechoslovakia / Hungary - November 12, 1980 (HC)
First Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party János Kádár meets with Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Gustáv Husák in Bratislava.
Yugoslavia / France – November 12-14, 1980 (HRN)
French Prime Minister Raymond Barre visits Yugoslavia.

East Germany – November 12-15, 1980 (KCA)
Erich Honecker - the General Secretary of the East German Socialist Union Party - leads a visiting delegation to Ethiopia. The visit is a conclusive step regarding the 20-year friendship agreement between East Germany and Ethiopia, signed on November 15, 1979.

Hungary - November 13, 1980 (HC)
The Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party is in session. There is a negotiation about the guidelines of the 6th five-year plan, for the years 1981-1985.
Spain / Finland – November 11, 1980 (LBC)
The Madrid sequel of the Helsinki conference opens.
Hungary - November 17, 1980 (HC)
A national Conference of Historians takes place in Szécsény.
Yugoslavia / Bulgaria – November 17-20, 1980 (HRN)
Yugoslav Foreign Minister Josip Vrhovec visits Bulgaria.
Hungary - November 20, 1980 (HC)
The Eastern-European office of the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements is opened in Budapest.
Finland / Hungary - November 21, 1980 (HC)
A Hungarian Institute opens in Helsinki.

Soviet Union / West Germany –November 21-24, 1980 (KCA)
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko visits West Germany. NATO plans for the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of West Germany are reported to be the main subject of talks. In a joint communiqué both countries underline the importance of détente and disarmament.

Yugoslavia / Nepal – November 22-24, 1980 (HN)
King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah visits Yugoslavia.

Hungary / Soviet Union – November 24-26, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Domestic Trade Vilmos Sághy runs negotiations in Moscow.

Hungary - November 28, 1980 (HC)
The Rajk László College for Advanced Studies of the Karl Marx University of Economics organizes a presentation and debate about the life-work of István Bibó. (November 21. The presentation is banned and later permitted. The Bibó memorial book is published as a samizdat, 76 authors write in it.)
Poland – November 30, 1980 (LBC)
TASS on the Polish events: “Internal and external hostile forces” want to transform Poland’s inner problems into “a counter-revolution in one of the socialist states” and “the aggressive circles of imperialism” were seeking to “restore lost positions with the policy of blackmail”.
Hungary / Romania / Warsaw Pact – November 30-December 3, 1980 (HC)
Colonel General and Minister of Defence Lajos Czinege participates in ameeting of the Defence Ministers of the Warsaw Pact members in Bucharest.

Romania – December 1-3, 1980 (MMS)
The Warsaw Pact Committee of Ministers of Defense takes place in Bucharest.

Hungary / Yugoslavia – December 2-3, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja pays an official visit to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Hungary / Yugoslavia – December 2-3, 1980 (HC)
The Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party is in session.
Hungary - December 3, 1980 (HC)
László Maróthy is elected as first secretary of the Budapest Party Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party and György Fejti is elected as First Secretary of the Young Communist League. ( December 7, 1984)
US / Soviet Union / Poland – December 3, 1980 (LBC)
President Carter announces that he is “watching with growing concern the unprecedented buildup of Soviet forces along the Polish border”. He warns: “The attitude and future policies of the United States toward the Soviet Union would be directly and very adversely affected by any Soviet use of force in Poland.

Czechoslovakia – December 3, 1980 (CWIHP)
The Chief of the General Staff of the Czechoslovak Army - Colonel General Miroslav Blahník, reports to Minister of National Defense Army General Martin Dzúr regarding troop exercises.

Yugoslavia / West Germany – December 4-6, 1980 (HRN)
An official delegation of the Social Democratic Party of Germany visits Yugoslavia.

Soviet Union / Poland / Czechoslovakia – December 5, 1980 (LBC)
The Moscow summit of the Warsaw Pact. The special meeting is convened to discuss the Polish developments. According to the communiqué issued after the meeting the seven states are confident that Poland will be able to resolve its difficulties. They renounced the threat of and use of force, but declared that Poland will remain a socialist state and can count on the fraternal solidarity and support of the Warsaw Pact. – Pravda publishes an article on the “lessons” of the 1968 Czechoslovak crisis and warns: the “revisionist and nationalist” members of the Czechoslovak leadership became “the Trojan horses of imperialist reaction”.
Hungary - December 5, 1980 (HC)
The Presidential Council of the People’s Republic is in session. Law decree no. 19 of 1980 ceases the Ministries of Furnace and Engineering Industry, Light Industry and Heavy Industry by December 31, 1980, and forms the Ministry of Industry on January 1, 1981 (Minister of Industry: Lajos Méhes).

Poland / Warsaw Treaty Organization – December 5, 1980 (UNW)
A conference of the representatives of the member countries of the Warsaw Treaty Organization takes place in Moscow. The threat of military invasion by the Soviet Union is raised – but subsequently dropped, most likely due to a personal intervention by the President of United States, Jimmy Carter. Soon after receiving a note from Carter, authorities in the Soviet Union decide to withdraw the Soviet army from the Polish border.

Bulgaria / Hungary – December 5, 1980 (HC)
Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Petko Ilie runs negotiations in Budapest.

Romania / Soviet Union – December 5, 1980 (PER)
Romania participates at the assembly of the leaders of the Warsaw Pact countries in Moscow.

East Germany / Hungary – December 7-9, 1980 (HC)
GDR’s Minister of Foreign Trade Horst Sölle runs negotiations in Budapest.

East Germany / Hungary – December 8-9, 1980 (HC)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Frigyes Puja visits the German Democratic Republic.

US / Eastern Europe / Western Europe / Soviet Union / Poland – December 9, 1980 (LBC)

The US orders four AWACS planes to observe troop movements in Eastern Europe. High ranking military commanders of NATO asked for the use of AWACS for fear of an air strike on Western Europe after the Warsaw Pact maneuvers in Poland. Two days earlier US officials declared that there was no proof of a Soviet decision to intervene in Poland, but the preparations for a possible intervention in Poland were concluded.

Hungary - December 11, 1980 (HC)
The government ceases the Hungarian Coal Mining Trust.
Belgium / NATO / Soviet Union / Poland – December 12, 1980 (LBC)
At their meeting in Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of NATO inform the Soviet Union that an intervention in Poland would mean the end of détente. If the Soviets decide to intervene, the NATO countries will react according to the gravity of the development. The allies are also serious on the implementation of economic sanctions in case of Soviet military involvement. Economic punishments would include contemplating a halt to the flow of credit to Poland and the USSR and terminating the multi-billion dollar industrial cooperation. Closing diplomatic missions, breaking off disarmament talks, and the reduction of cultural relations, etc. are also mentioned as consequences.
Hungary - December 12-14, 1980 (HC)
The 24th Congress of the Hungarian Trade Unions takes place (Chairman: Aladár Földvári; Secretary-General: Sándor Gáspár).

Hungary / Zimbabwe – December 15-21, 1980 (HC)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Róbert Garai negotiates in Zimbabwe about their diplomatic relationship.

Hungary - December 15, 1980 (HC)
Lajosné Duschek is elected as Chairwoman of the National Council of Hungarian Women.
Hungary - December 17-18, 1980 (HC)
The winter session of the Parliament takes place. Act no. V of 1980 about the amendment to the National Defense Act is adopted. (The duration of military service decreases from 24 months to 18 months.)
Yugoslavia / Italy and Vatican – December 17-19, 1980 (HRN)
President of the Presidency Cvijetin Mijatović makes an official visit to Italy and Vatican.

Hungary - December 19, 1980 (HC)
The Presidential Council of the People’s Republic is in session. Law decree no. 20 of 1980 increases the military service necessary to receive a pension from 10 years to 20 years.
Hungary - December 19, 1980 (HC)
The Hungarian Museum of Ethnography’s first permanent exhibition is opened.
Hungary - During the year, 1980 (HC)
According to the census taken at the beginning of January the population of Hungary is 10 710 000.

1969
1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980

© Cold War History Research Center, Budapest 2016