European interwar dictatorships

This is a list of dictatorial regimes operational in European states in the interwar period, the period between the First World War and the Second World War.

20th century European dictatorships by duration

Table summary
Country Leader[1] Start End Duration (days) Head of state[2] Head of government[3] Head of state party[4] Parliament[5] Party system[6]
 AlbaniaAhmed Zogu1925-02-011939-04-075,178yes[7]till 1928noredesignedtolerated
AustriaEngelbert Dolfuss1933-03-071934-07-25505noyesyesredesignedabolished
 AustriaKurt Schuschnigg1934-07-291938-03-121,322noyessince 1936[8]redesignedabolished
 BulgariaAlexander Tsankov1923-06-091926-01-04940noyesyes[9]coercedtolerated
 BulgariaBoris III1935-01-221943-08-283,140yesnonoredesignedabolished
 Czechoslovakiacollective[10]1938-09-301939-03-15166n/an/an/a[11]coerced[12]tolerated[13]
 Danzigcollective[14]1933-06-241939-09-012,260n/an/an/acorcedtolerated
 EstoniaKonstantin Päts1934-03-121938-01-01[15]1,187no[16]yesno[17]redesigned[18]tolerated[19]
 GermanyAdolf Hitler1933-01-301945-04-304,473since 1934[20]yesyescoerced[21]abolished
 GreeceTheodoros Pangalos1925-06-241926-08-26428since 1926[22]till 1926nocoercedtolerated
 GreeceIoannis Metaxas1936-08-041941-04-251,725noyesno[23]noneabolished
 HungaryBéla Kun1919-03-211919-08-01133no[24]noyesnonetolerated
 HungaryMiklós Horthy1920-03-011944-10-158,994yesnono[25]coercedtolerated
ItalyBenito Mussolini1922-10-311943-07-23[26]7,570no[27]yesyesredesigned[28]abolished[29]
 LatviaKārlis Ulmanis1934-05-151940-06-152,223since 1936[30]yesno[31]none[32]abolished[33]
 LithuaniaAntanas Smetona1926-12-191940-06-154,927yesnotill 1926[34]redesigned[35]tolerated[36]
 PolandJózef Piłsudski1926-05-141935-05-123,285no1926–1930[37]no[38]coercedtolerated
 Polandcollective[39]1935-05-121939-09-171,589n/an/an/acoercedtolerated
 PortugalSidónio Pais[40]1917-12-171918-12-14362since 1917[41]yes[42]nocoercedtolerated
Portugalcollective[43]1926-05-281933-03-192,487n/an/an/acoercedtolerated
 PortugalAntonio Salazar1933-03-191968-09-2512,984noyesyes[44]redesignedabolished
 RomaniaCarol II1938-02-111940-09-05937yesnono[45]none[46]abolished
 San MarinoGiuliano Gozi[47]1923-04-011943-07-28[48]7,423intermittentlyn/ayescoercedabolished[49]
 SlovakiaJozef Tiso1939-03-141945-04-012,210yes[50]till 1939yesredesignedtolerated[51]
 Soviet Russiacollective[52]1917-11-071924-01-213,657n/an/an/acoercedabolished
 Soviet UnionJoseph Stalin1924-01-211953-03-059,246nosince 1941yesrubber stampabolished
 SpainMiguel Primo de Rivera1923-09-231930-01-282,319noyesyesredesigned[53]abolished
 Spaincollective[54]1930-01-281931-04-14441n/an/an/aredesignedtolerated
 Spain (R)collective[55]1936-07-181939-03-31986n/an/an/acoerced[56]tolerated[57]
 Spain (N)Francisco Franco1936-10-011975-11-2014,294yestill 1973yesredesignedabolished[58]
 TurkeyMustafa Kemal Atatürk1920-05-031938-11-106,765since 1923[59]till 1921yesredesignedtolerated
 Turkeycollective[60]1938-11-101950-05-224,211n/an/an/aredesignedtolerated
 YugoslaviaAlexander I1929-01-061934-04-091,919yesnonoredesigned[61]tolerated[62]
 Yugoslaviacollective[63]1934-04-091941-03-272,544n/an/an/aredesignedtolerated

See also

Footnotes
  1. if clear. Otherwise brief information provided against specific cases
  2. flag whether the dictator was formally a head of state, either as a monarch (king, tsar), regent, president, leader, state elder, chairman of a collegial body or any other formally recognised title. "N/a" stands for collective dictatorships, where there was no person identified as a dictator
  3. flag whether the dictator was heading the country executive, typically a government, with the role of a prime minister
  4. includes monopolistic parties such as NSDAP, and organisations posing as non-party citizen associations, e.g. Unión Patriótica in Spain or Vaterländische Front in Austria. In few cases such organisation existed, but the dictator was neither its leader nor even member, see e.g. the case of BBWR in Poland or Frontul Renașterii Naționale in Romania. "N/a" stands for collective dictatorships with no clear personal leader
  5. "corced" stands for a parliament formally elected and operating according to pre-dictatorial rules, but controlled by means of electoral process and subservient majority; "redesigned" stands for a parliament composed and functioning according to new rules, defined by the dictatorship; "none" stands for no parliament at all
  6. refers to political parties other than the state party (if such existed); "abolished" stands for political parties having been either explicitly banned/dissolved or suspended or their operations made formally impossible due to other regulations, e.g. martial law; "tolerated" stands for the case when at least some political parties were legally permitted to operate, but because of various degree of control exercised on part of dictatorial regime, they were deprived of political importance
  7. until 1928 as president, afterwards as king
  8. following the assassination of Dolfuss, leadership of Vaterländische Front was assumed by Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg. Schuschnigg replaced him in 1936
  9. the regime created Демократически сговор, a heterogeneous political entity intended as a platform of popular mobilisation; leadership in the party was heavily contested between Tsankov and Andrey Lyapchev
  10. President was Emil Hácha and Prime Ministers were Jan Syrový (until Dec. 1938) and his successor Rudolf Beran
  11. the prime minister Rudolf Beran became chairman of the state party, Strana národní jednoty, but his position was a far cry from personal dictatorship
  12. apart from merging numerous parties into one state party, the parliament was disenfranchised as the government and the president were given legislative rights for the period of 2 years, Jan Kuklík, Czech Law in Historical Contexts, Prague 2015, p. 114
  13. in Bohemian part only 2 parties were allowed to operate, Kuklík 2015, p. 114. In the Slovak part there were other parties operational. Some authors mention "destruction of democratic Czechoslovakia", see Anton Pelinka, Gunter Bischof, Michael Gehler, Austrian Foreign Policy in Historical Context, p. 114; others contrast “democratic First Republic (1918-1938)” with “authoritarian Second Republic (1938-1939)” and note “dismantling not just of Masaryk’s republic but of its democratic structure in 1938-1939", Andrea Orzoff, Battle for the Castle: The Myth of Czechoslovakia in Europe, 1914-1948, London 2011. pp. 12, 131
  14. at different stages key personalities were Hermann Rauschning, Arthur Greiser and Albert Forster, though all were party subordinates of Adolf Hitler
  15. Päts' government, having declared a nationwide state of emergency in March 1934, suspended the current parliament on 3 October 1934, a new parliament was elected and came into session only in 1938; meanwhile, a National Assembly was elected by popular vote in 1936 to draw up a new constitution, and the new constitution came into force on 1 January 1938
  16. Päts was Prime Minister in duties of the State Elder, and after the new constitution came to force, served as temporary caretaker head of state until the presidential elections of 1938
  17. Päts had previously led a party, Asunikkude ning väikemaapidajate Koondis, which was dissolved in 1935. Päts' government was effectively supported by a newly-formed Patriotic League (Isamaaliit), the only legal political movement while the activities of all political parties remained suspended in the country
  18. The unicameral parliament (Riigikogu) was adjourned in October 1934 and never resumed session. A new bicameral parliament was elected in 1938.
  19. since March 20, 1935 the activities of all political parties were suspended, however individual pro-government and opposition candidates were able to run freely in the 1936 Estonian National Assembly elections and 1938 parliamentary elections.
  20. in 1933-1934 the head of state was president Hindenburg; following his death Hitler abolished the role altogether and merged presidential rights into a new role, "der Führer und Reichskanzler"
  21. formally the regime did not introduce major institutional changes to electoral and parliamentarian regime. However, in practice elections staged in 1933, 1936 and 1938 were fully manipulated by the Nazis. Between 1933 and 1942 Reichstag convened 20 times, mostly as an audience to Hitler's harrangues; it exercised no political power
  22. till 1926 the head of state was president Pavlos Kountouriotis; Pangalos deposed him following rigged presidential elections
  23. Metaxas headed own party, Κόμμα των Ελευθεροφρόνων, which he dissolved upon seizing power
  24. as First Hungarian Republic has never achieved legal stability, the role of head of state has not been clearly specified. The closest position was this of head of the Hungarian Central Executive Council, the role held by Sándor Garbai
  25. due to rigged political system, the party victorious in all elections organized was Egységes Párt / Nemzeti Egység Pártja / Magyar Élet Pártja; though customarily referred to as "the government party" it has formed an autonomous part of the Horthy regime, independent of the regent himself
  26. Italian Social Republic between 23 September 1943 and 25 April 1945.
  27. till 1943 the head of state was king Victor Emmanuel III. The Italian Social Republic has never adopted a constitution or other legal act which formally defined head of state, even though Mussolini de facto acted as such
  28. the Italian parliament underwent a few major changes throughout the fascist era; the Acerbo Law of 1923 re-defined electoral regime, in 1938 the chamber was replaced with entirely new corporative Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni, and in 1943 an Assemblea Costituente was declared for the RSI
  29. until 1926 political parties were formally allowed to operate
  30. until 1936 the president was Alberts Kviesis. Upon expiration of his term, Ulmanis by decree assumed presidential duties
  31. Ulmanis led his own party, Latvijas Zemnieku savienība, which he dissolved upon seizing power. There were other organizations he supported or created as vehicles of popular mobilization, like the paramilitary Aizsargi or self-development Mazpulki, but none amounted either to a state party or general patriotic front
  32. numerous professional chambers have been created, with sort of their joint representation, but they never assumed political duties
  33. Tyler Kuck 2014, p. 241
  34. in 1926 Smetona handed the leadership of Lietuvių Tautininkų Sąjunga to Liudas Noreika; other party leaders followed later
  35. the original Seimas was not convened until 1936; afterwards elections were organized according to new rules set up by the regime
  36. towards the end of the regime it was increasingly assuming a one-party-state formula, Payne 1983, p. 125
  37. Piłsudski was prime minister during two strings of 634 days (1926–1928) and 101 days (1930). Usually he preferred to rule from the back seat with his appointees in the front row.
  38. The regime formed its own organisation which claimed not to have been a party, BBWR; its head was Walery Sławek and Piłsudski did not bother to join.
  39. following the death of Piłsudski there was no obvious leader among his successors, with individuals like his personal friend Walery Sławek, president Ignacy Mościcki or army head Edward Rydz-Śmigły competing for power
  40. leader of the 1917 coup, Sidónio Pais held the post of Portugal's president; the system is noted as "plebiscitary effort at a presidential regime", though some think it fell short of a personal dictatorship, Payne 1983, p. 140
  41. the president Bernardino Machado went on exile on Dec 15, 1917. Pais became acting president following his decree of Dec 27, 1917; following rigged presidential elections of April 1918 he was formally confirmed as president in May 1918
  42. Officially as prime minister until May 1918; afterwards premiership role was formally merged with this of the president.
  43. initially the key though not dominating person behind the regime was its president, Oscar Carmona. He shared power with other military and prime ministers, like José Vicente de Freitas, Artur Ivens Ferraz and Domingos Oliveira; over time the finance minister Antonio Salazar exercised more and more power, Payne 1983, p. 157
  44. in an array of support mobilisation platforms, like Mocidade Portuguesa or Fundação Nacional para a Alegria no Trabalho, União Nacional was secondary to formation of Salazar regime, with phases of lethargy and re-animation interchanging, António Costa Pinto, ''Salazar’s ‘New State’: The Paradoxes of Hybridization in the Fascist Era, [in:] António Costa Pinto, Aristotle Kallis (eds.), Rethinking Fascism, London 2014, ISBN 9781349480883, p. 165
  45. the royal regime set up Frontul Renașterii Naționale as the only legal political organization; it was headed by individuals other than the king, Armand Călinescu, Gheorghe Argeșanu and Constantin Argetoianu
  46. initially Carol II intended to build a royal coalition, but eventually gave up, suspended the constitution and ruled as a royal dictator, Patrick G. Zander, Fascism through History: Culture, Ideology, and Daily Life, London 2020, ISBN 9781440861949, p. 424
  47. The term limits of the Captains Regents were maintained during the dictatorship. He hold four terms between 1923 and 1941.
  48. The fascist government was reinstalled between 23 September 1943 and 20 September 1944.
  49. until 1925 political parties were formally allowed to operate
  50. till late 1939 the role of head of state was formally with the government; it was headed by Tiso. Later he assumed the newly created presidential role
  51. parties of German and Hungarian minorities were allowed to operate
  52. heads of state changed in line with changing formal position (Lev Kamenev, Yakov Sverdlov, Mikhail Kalinin); prime ministers were Lenin and Alexei Rykov; there were also successive leaders of the communist party, РСДРП, РКП(б) and ВКП(б) like Nikolay Krestinsky, Vyacheslav Molotov and Stalin, Communist International head Grigory Zinoviev, plus persons like Leon Trotsky, who did not go above the rank of a minister
  53. Asamblea Nacional Consultiva was created in 1927, met rarely, and held no political power
  54. following resignation of Primo de Rivera there was no clear political leader; power was shared between Alfonso XIII and prime ministers, Dámaso Berenguer and then Juan Aznar
  55. exact political system in the so-called Republican zone of Spain evades easy categorization. Some scholars implicitly though not explicitly associate the wartime Republic with democracy, see e.g. Martin Blinkhorn, Democracy and Civil War in Spain 1931-1939, London 2008, ISBN 9781134986347, p. 28, or Julian Casanova, The Spanish Civil War, London 2017, ISBN 9781350127586, p. 186. Some refer rather to a multi-current revolutionary regime with no force assuming a clearly dictatorial role, though many - e.g. the Communists or the Anarchists - willing to introduce their own type of dictatorship, Stanley G. Payne, The Spanish Civil War, Cambridge 2012, ISBN 9780521174701, p. 96. In the late 20th century Juan Negrín was at times referred to as a dictator, but currently this position is not maintained
  56. MPs from parties other than those within the Popular Front were either killed or fled or went into hiding. The chamber exercised no political power, did not authorise change of governments, and convened few times, mostly as demonstration intended for foreign audience that the Republican democracy was well and alive
  57. parties which used to form the Popular Front formed the backbone of the dictatorship; opposition parties have been declared illegal
  58. in line with the Unification Decree, the only political organisation permitted to operate was FET
  59. until 1923 there was no formally defined head of state
  60. following death of Kemal Atatürk the head of state was the president, İsmet İnönü; however, the regime was far from his personal dictatorship, with personal influence of prime ministers (Celâl Bayar, Refik Saydam) and some military
  61. Lee 2016, p.343
  62. having staged a self-coup, Alexander initially abolished all political parties. The constitution he imposed in 1931 permitted operations of political parties, Lee 2016, p. 343
  63. following assassination of king Alexander I the role of head of state was assumed by a collegial regency, led by Prince Paul and composed of lesser personalities like Radenko Stanković and Ivo Perović; much power was exercised by the PM, Milan Stojadinović, with other key politicians like Vladko Maček contributing to shaky balance of powers

Further reading
  • Gerhard Besier, Katarzyna Stokłosa, European Dictatorships: A Comparative History of the Twentieth Century, Cambridge, 2014, ISBN 9781443855211
  • Carles Boix, Michael K. Miller, Sebastian Rosato (December 2013), "A Complete Dataset of Political Regimes, 1800–2007", Comparative Political Studies 46/12, pp. 1523–1554 (subscription required)
  • Stephen J. Lee, European Dictatorships, 1918–1945, London, 2002, ISBN 9780415230452
  • Monty G. Marshall, Ted Gurr, Keith Jaggers, The Polity IV Project: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800–2012 – Dataset Users' Manual, s.l. 2017
  • Jørgen Møller, Svend-Erik Skaaning, "Mapping Political Regime Developments in Interwar Europe: A Multidimensional Approach", Salamanca, 2014 (paper delivered at ECPR session)
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