[7] By this time, Horn had become a prominent member of the party's reformist wing, which wanted to jettison the goulash Communism of Kádár in favour of Western-style democracy and a market economy.

As a minister he was in charge of foreign affairs when Hungary decided to open the western border (the "Iron Curtain") to East Germans wishing to emigrate to West Germany.

He and his Austrian counterpart Alois Mock posed for cameras on 27 June 1989 to cut through a barbed wire frontier fence, in a largely symbolic act of rapprochement which had been planned months before.

As foreign minister he ordered the border to be opened to allow East Germans gathered in Hungary by the thousands to cross into Austria, and from there to West Germany.

Within weeks tens of thousands of East Germans, who travelled to Hungary with "tourist" visas, headed straight for the unfortified border and walked into the West.

Among the politicians of the transitional era, including representatives of civil opposition, he was the first in Hungary who raised and suggested the issue of possible membership in NATO and the European Union.

Although the Socialists had more than enough seats to govern alone, Horn suspected he'd have trouble getting needed reforms past his own party's left wing.

[7] He did not, however, get the Civil Division of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2007, suggested by Ferenc Gyurcsány, as it was refused by Hungarian President László Sólyom, who explicitly stated Horn's views on the 1956 revolution as the reason.

[9][10] According to a survey in 2011, Viktor Orbán was found to be Hungary's best prime minister since the transition to democracy, József Antall, the head of the first democratically elected government between 1990 and 1993, came second while Horn and Gordon Bajnai (2009–10) tied for the third place.

[11] Although the fiscal austerity package under his rule eroded his popularity heavily, the most controversial part of his life is his role after the 1956 revolution, which started on 23 October and was crushed in the days following 4 November.

At the end of October he joined the National Guard, the armed body of the revolution consisting of soldiers, policemen, and civic freedom fighters.

"[15] Horn's precise role in crushing the revolution is unclear as the reports of his brigade have gaps; however, in 1957 he received the award "For the Worker-Peasant Power", which was only granted to those whose services earned satisfaction.

[17] Later reported his condition worsened so much that he could not leave the hospital, and thus missed the World Political Forum which was held in Budapest, where former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev also participated.

"[23] Reuters called Horn, whose picture taking a wire-cutter to the fence separating Hungary and Austria was iconic, the "man who tore the iron curtain".

[1] Domestic recognition was hampered by his communist history, and commendations voted on by the Hungarian parliament were defeated on the occasions of his 70th and 75th birthdays.

[23] Attila Mesterházy, chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party, sent a statement to news agency Magyar Távirati Iroda (MTI) in which he wrote that "Horn will be remembered as the most defining leaders of the modern Hungarian left, one of the most successful prime ministers of Hungary and had made one of the greatest impacts on Europe during its sweeping changes over two decades ago.

Former PM Gyurcsány called Horn the "most contradictory" and "most talented" of politicians, and added in his Facebook entry: "a great man has passed away.

Politics Can Be Different's co-chair András Schiffer told MTI that "Horn was one of the most important personalities of the post-communist Hungary and is one of the few politicians whose names are likely to go down in Hungarian history."

He added that Horn was a "symbol of a peaceful and successful regime change, and, as prime minister, he had done much to help Hungary find an exit from the post-communist economic and social crisis.

[25] Horn received a state funeral with military honors and was buried at Fiume Road National Graveyard on 8 July 2013.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz, former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Hungarian President János Áder, former head of states László Sólyom and Pál Schmitt, Archbishop Péter Erdő and former house speaker Katalin Szili were also among the attendance, as well as representatives of the main parliamentary parties.

[27] Béla Katona, who served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2010, said the "life of Gyula Horn itself encompassed the history of the twentieth century" and he shaped the "fate of both Hungary and Europe as a whole."