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So in 1945 Hungary lost the war and we got into the Soviet influenced block, the country was occupied by the Red Army. There was no question that communists had to got roles in whatever government was formed, so in the interim government featured Nagy Imre as an agricultural minister. He gained popularity for they enacted land reform, provided land ownership for masses of peasants. Then in the first coalition government that formed after the first election, he got the role of the Minister of Interior - because who else could get the position that could help to recon with political opposition, but the commies.
Aaanyway. He served in various visible roles, as the communists took over the country, like the Chairman of the Parliament, or Vice Prime Minister. So when Rákosi Mátyás, the face of the Stalinist regime on the Hungary, was pressured out of the position of PM by the Kremlin in 1953 after Stalin's death, they picked Nagy for the role.
Those times it wasn't actually clear who will lead the Soviet Union, or what direction it will take, but one thing was sure that Rákosi and Co. had to practice "self-criticism" and step back, allowing more popular faces into power, who dialed down the terror (the tovarishes in Moscow actually found it problematic that they launched investigation against 1,5 million people on the Hungary with its 9,5 mil population). And Nagy was prepared to do that too. He put forward a program - in a radio speech - they called the New Course which changed some of the policies.