1923- . Hungarian socialist leader. As
secretary of the ruling Hungarian Socialist
Worker's Party's (HSWP) central committee
1962-74 and a member of its politburo
1966-74, he was the architect of Hungary's
liberalizing economic reforms in 1968. In
1940 Nyers joined the Hungarian Social
Democratic Party, which in 1948 was forcibly
merged with the communists. He was removed
from his HSWP posts in 1974 and his career
remained at a standstill until 1988, when,
with a new reform initiative under way, he
was brought back into the politburo. He
became head of the newly formed Hungarian
Socialist Party in 1989.