Nagy was born into family of middle-level peasants in the small town of Bisse, and started his political career writing news articles as a self-taught man. He was involved in local peasant societies and was the co-founder of the Peasant Union, and in October 1930 he took part in the foundation of the Independent Smallholders' Party. He entered Parliament in 1939, and was involved in anti-war and anti-Nazi activities during Hungary's participation in World War II on the side of the Axis powers. After the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, the Gestapo arrested Nagy, but the government of Géza Lakatos intervened to release him during Hungary's botched armistice with the Allies. After the Arrow Cross coup in October, Nagy went into hiding until the Red Army had driven the Nazis out of most of Hungary. He took part in the organization of the anti-fascist provisional government, and was elected to the Provisional National Assembly. Nagy soon became the Smallholders' Party's second-in-command after Zoltán Tildy. In the November 1945 parliamentary elections, the Independent Smallholders' Party won a large majority of the popular vote and parliamentary seats, but pressure from the Soviet-dominated Allied Commission forced them into a coalition arrangement with the Communists and Social Democrats. Nagy was named speaker of the new parliament while Tildy became the new Prime Minister, and both became members of the High National Council which served as Hungary's provisional collective head of state. After Hungary's transformation into a republic in February 1946 and Tildy's subsequent elevation to President of Hungary, Nagy became the new premier.