Biographical Interview

Series

Domaniczky, Endre, Mester, László

The series includes a biographical interview recorded in 13 sessions, following László Mester's life and career in chronological order. The life story begins with his childhood in the Pestszentlőrinc State Housing Estate, then discusses the years spent at Malév Airlines air traffic control unit, the secretariat of KISZ (Hungarian Communist Youth Organization) and his role in the party apparatus, and then, through the regime change, the interviewee's path in local and national politics. The approximately 20-hour time frame provided an opportunity for the interviewee to analyze the possibilities of local politics from a specific perspective, devoting time to different changes in political power relations, showing the reorganization of political life in the district in the 90s. The focus of the interview is mostly local conflicts that have put the district into national spotlight, such as the issue of crude oil lakes. In addition to these, the everyday life of the district is discussed, such as twin town relations, the background of major municipal investments, infrastructural differences between areas of the district, as well as other issues lasting several terms, for example the infrastructural backwardness of the outer districts of Budapest. The interview also provides an analysis of the history of the Hungarian Socialist Party from a specific perspective, discussing some of the party's internal conflicts. The interviews were conducted by Endre Domaniczky between January and August, 2020.

The series contains electronically recorded sound files in good condition that have undergone digital noise filtering.

Not Expected

The audio recordings in the series were processed in the order of recording. With few exceptions, the interview proceeds in chronological order of events.

Restricted

Reproduction is allowed for non commercial purposes.

The parts of the collection dealing with the year 1989 and the period after can be accessed upon the permission of the donor.

Processed by Örs Lehel Tari, January 10, 2021

Series level descriptions are based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description (Second Edition, 1999) by International Council on Archives.