Wikipedia

Katalin Novák

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Arwel Parry (talk | contribs) at 20:51, 10 February 2024 (→‎As President: tense change). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The native form of this personal name is Veresné Novák Katalin Éva. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Katalin Éva Veresné Novák[1] (born 6 September 1977) is a Hungarian politician who served as the president of Hungary, after being elected in the 2022 presidential election. Novák was the first woman to hold the presidency, as well as the youngest president in the history of Hungary, elected at the age of 44. A member of Fidesz, Novák has additionally served as member of the National Assembly from 2018 to 2022, and as Minister for Family Affairs in the fourth Orbán Government from 2020 until 2021.

Katalin Novák
Novák in 2023
President of Hungary
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 May 2022
Prime MinisterViktor Orbán
Preceded byJános Áder
Minister for Family Affairs
In office
1 October 2020 – 31 December 2021
Prime MinisterViktor Orbán
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of the National Assembly
In office
8 May 2018 – 1 May 2022
Personal details
Born
Katalin Éva Novák

(1977-09-06) 6 September 1977 (age 47)
Szeged, Hungary
Political partyFidesz
SpouseIstván Veres
Children3
EducationCorvinus University of Budapest (MSc)
University of Szeged (JD)

Novák resigned on 10 February 2024 after it was revealed that in April 2023 she had granted a presidential pardon to Endre Kónya, a former deputy director of the orphanage in Bicske who was involved in a pedophilia case and was sentenced to prison.[2] By law, Hungarian Parliament has to accept her resignation before it can come into effect. The institution of "provisional president" does not exist in the Hungarian law system. There is an interregnum until the inauguration of the next president. Until then, the President of the National Assembly (in this case László Kövér) performs the duties of the head of state.[3]

Education

After completing her secondary education at the Ságvári Endre Secondary School at Szeged in 1996, Novák studied economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest and law at the University of Szeged. While a student, she additionally studied abroad at the Paris Nanterre University. In addition to Hungarian, Novák speaks French, English, German,[4] and Spanish.[5]

Career

 
Novák with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasília, 20 June 2022

Novák started work at the Foreign Ministry in 2001, specializing in European Union and European matters. In 2010 she became a ministerial advisor and in 2012 was appointed Head of Cabinet of the Ministry of Human Resources.[4]

In 2014 she became State Secretary for Family and Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Human Capacities, eventually becoming Minister of Family Affairs in October 2020, a position held until December 2021.

She served as Vice President of Fidesz between 2017 and 2021.[6]

On 21 December 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Novák would be his nominee in the 2022 presidential election.[7] On 10 March 2022, she won gaining 137 out of 188 votes in the National Assembly.[8] Novák is the first woman to hold the office of president in its history.

As President

 
Novák with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Rome, 31 January 2023
 
Novák with Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski in Skopje, 6 February 2023
 
Novák with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, 5 November 2023

In April 2023, the National Assembly passed a bill enabling and encouraging citizens to report same-sex couples who raise children to the state authorities, such as police and child protection.[9] Novák vetoed the bill, and formally prevented it from becoming enacted into law.[10]

In May 2022, she condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying "We condemn Putin's aggression, the armed invasion of a sovereign state. We say eternally no to every effort aiming at the restoration of the Soviet Union!".[11]

She condemned Hamas' attack on Israel and expressed her support for Israel's right to self-defence. On 5 November 2023, Novák visited Israel to express solidarity with the country.[12]

She has been criticised for being too lenient when granting presidential pardons. Two of the more controversial cases happened in April 2023 when she pardoned domestic terrorist György Budaházy[13] and the vice principal of a foster home in Bicske, who tried to cover up the principal's crimes when the latter was charged for child molestation.[14] The vice principal's pardon became known to the public only on 2 February 2024. Subsequently there were protests demanding Novák's resignation.[15] She resigned on 10 February 2024.[16] Judit Varga who countersigned the pardon as Minister of Justice, also resigned alongside the president.[17]

Personal life

Katalin Novák is married and has three children. Her husband is economist István Veres, director of the Financial Market and Foreign Exchange Market Directorate at the Hungarian National Bank (MNB).[18] She is a Reformed Christian.[19]

Honours and awards

Domestic

Foreign

Dynastic

References

  1. ^ "EMMI vezetők elérhetősége" (PDF). Magyarország Kormánya (in Hungarian). p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  2. ^ Mizsur, András; Pál, Tamás (10 February 2024). "Lemondott Novák Katalin". Telex (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 10 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  3. ^ "2011. évi CX. törvény a köztársasági elnök jogállásáról és javadalmazásáról". njt.hu (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Biography" (PDF). Parliament. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  5. ^ Horowitz, Jason; Povoledo, Elisabetta (28 April 2023). "Pope Returns to Hungary, to Delight of Viktor Orban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. ^ Csuhaj, Ildikó (5 October 2021). "Novák Katalin bejelentette: Nem indul a Fidesz alelnöki posztjáért". ATV (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  7. ^ Tóth-Szenesi, Attila (21 December 2021). "Novák Katalin lesz a Fidesz államfőjelöltje". Telex (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  8. ^ "'Nejdůležitější jsou pro mě rodiny a děti.' Maďarsko má novou prezidentku Katalin Novákovou". iROZHLAS (in Czech). 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  9. ^ Gulyas, Veronika; Kasnyik, Marton (13 April 2023). "Hungary's New Law Lets Locals Report on Same-Sex Families". Bloomberg News.
  10. ^ Kijewski, Leonie (22 April 2023). "Hungarian president vetoes anti-LGBTQ law". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Hungary's new president condemns Putin's 'aggression', plans trip to Warsaw". Reuters. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  12. ^ "President Novák Meets Israeli Counterpart in Tel-Aviv on a Solidarity Visit". Hungary Today. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Kegyelmet adott Budaházy Györgynek Novák Katalin a pápára hivatkozva". hvg.hu (in Hungarian). 27 April 2023. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Novák Katalin kegyelmet adott a bicskei gyerekotthon egykori igazgatóhelyettesének, aki fedezte a pedofil exigazgatót". telex (in Hungarian). 2 February 2024. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Több ezres tömeg követeli Novák Katalin köztársasági elnök lemondását a fővárosban", YouTube (in Hungarian), Euronews, retrieved 10 February 2024
  16. ^ "Hungarian president resigns over sex abuse case pardon". Reuters. 10 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  17. ^ Thorpe, Nick (10 February 2024). "Hungarian President Katalin Novak resigns over child abuse pardon scandal". BBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  18. ^ "The President's husband – Hungary gets its first ever first gentleman". Telex. 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Curriculum Vitae". Republic of Hungary. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  20. ^ a b Lajos, Csordás (8 May 2014). "A zöld szárú kereszt lovagjai". Archived from the original on 11 May 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  21. ^ Gauquelin, Blaise (31 January 2019). "Une proche d'Orban reçoit la Légion d'honneur" [Orban's friend receives the Legion of Honour]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  22. ^ "Nadanie orderów" [Giving orders]. Prawo.pl (in Polish). 14 January 2020 [4 October 2019]. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  23. ^ "President Novák meets Portuguese counterpart in Lisbon". About Hungary. 24 February 2023. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
Political offices
New office Minister for Family Affairs
2020–2021 		Office abolished
Preceded by President of Hungary
2022–present 		Incumbent
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