In 1989 the Ministry of Interior was responsible for public order, public safety, internal security, and, since the beginning of 1988, public administration. The ministry controlled the armed security organizations in the country--the National Police, the Security Police, and the Border Guard--but not the Workers' Guard, which was subject directly to the HSWP. The ministry was also responsible for such diverse tasks as fire prevention and passport control.

In the late 1980s, the government attempted to limit the ministry's arbitrary use of power or at least tried to clean up its public image. In an interview in June 1989, Minister of Interior Istvan Horvath suggested that the ministry ought to transfer its control of the Security Police to the local governments.

Data as of September 1989