Mátyás Rákosi (March 14, 1892–February 5, 1971) was a Hungarian politician and the leader of Hungary from 1945 to 1956.

Rákosi was born in Ada , in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Serbia). He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War until captured on the Eastern Front. He became a communist and returned to Hungary, participating in the government of Béla Kun; after its fall he fled, eventually to the Soviet Union. Going back to Hungary in 1924 he was imprisoned, and, on his 1940 release he went back to the Soviet Union, where he became leader of the Comintern. He returned to Hungary with the Red Army.

When the communist government was installed in Hungary Rákosi was appointed General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party. He pursued an authoritarian rule, consolidating power in his person.

Rákosi described himself as "Stalin's best Hungarian disciple". He also invented the term "salami tactics" - eliminating the opposition slice by slice.

Rákosi was established in office as Prime Minister of Hungary in the post-war takeover of government, being also General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party, and Prime Minister. He imposed authoritarian rule on Hungary, but the country was not economically successful. On June 13 1953, to appease Tito, he was forced to give up the office of Prime Minister to Imre Nagy, while retaining the office of General Secretary. When Nagy was forced from office after the Hungarian Revolution, Rákosi returned, only to give up office under pressure from the Soviet Politburo in June 1956 (shortly after Khrushchev's Secret Speech), and was replaced by Erno Gero. He then fled to the Soviet Union again, where he died in Gorky in 1971.

|- style="text-align: center;" | width="30%" |Preceded by:
Zoltán Tildy | width="40%" style="text-align: center;" |Prime Minister of Hungary
1946 | width="30%" |Succeeded by:
Ferenc Nagy

|- style="text-align: center;" | width="30%" |Preceded by:
István Dobi | width="40%" style="text-align: center;" |Prime Minister of Hungary
1952–1953 | width="30%" |Succeeded by:
Imre Nagy