János Péter Explained

János Péter
Order:Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary
Term Start:13 September 1961
Term End:14 December 1973
Predecessor:Endre Sík
Successor:Frigyes Puja
Birth Date:28 October 1910
Birth Place:Alsónyék, Austria-Hungary
Death Place:Budapest, Hungary
Profession:politician
Party:MSZMP

János Péter (28 October 1910 – 26 February 1999) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1961 and 1973. Prior to that, he was a Calvinist bishop.

Dean Rusk, the US Secretary of State reported that Péter had attempted to defraud the United States by pretending to be in contact with the government of North Vietnam. Rusk engaged in what he at the time believed to be serious negotiations to end the war in Vietnam. However, a defector named János Radványi later informed Rusk "that Péter was not in an effective contact with Hanoi, and that they had had no encouragement from Hanoi about the things that Péter was saying to me." Rusk came to believe that the Péter overture "was an instance that was just a plain fraud."[1]

References

Notes and References

  1. D. Rusk, LBJ Oral History Collection, Interview II, p. 14