István Simicskó (born 29 November 1961) is a Hungarian politician of the governing
Fidesz
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; hu, Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán.
It was formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young ...
–
KDNP
The Christian Democratic People's Party ( hu, Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt, KDNP) is a right-wing Christian democratic political party in Hungary. It is officially a coalition partner of the ruling party, Fidesz, but is mostly considered a sat ...
coalition. He has been a Member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
since 1998. He served as
Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
from 10 September 2015 to 18 May 2018.
Studies and personal life
Simicskó was born in
Tiszalök
Tiszalök is a town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.
Geography
It covers an area of and, in 2015, had a population of 5,395.
Notable people
* Miklós Kocsis, sport shooter
* Countess A ...
,
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg ( hu, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg megye, ) is an administrative county (Hungarian: ''megye'') in north-eastern Hungary, bordering Slovakia (Košice Region), Ukraine (Zakarpattia Oblast), and Romania ( Bihor and Satu Mare coun ...
on 29 November 1961. He finished his secondary studies at the Jedlik Ányos Secondary Grammar School of
Csepel
Csepel (german: Tschepele) is the 21st district and a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. Csepel officially became part of Budapest on 1 January 1950.
Location
Csepel is located at the northern end of Csepel Island in the Danube, and covers ...
in 1980. He earned a degree in business economics at the
College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism in 1985. Between 1999 and 2002, he was educated at the
Eötvös Loránd University
Eötvös Loránd University ( hu, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, ELTE) is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in Hung ...
, where he became a
Doctor of law
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...
.
Simicskó obtained his
PhD degree (military sciences) at the Zrínyi Miklós National Defence University (by now integrated into the
National University of Public Service
The University of Public Service (UPS; hu, Nemzeti Közszolgálati Egyetem) is a higher educational institution in Budapest, Hungary. Established in 2012, it is one of the youngest universities in Central and Eastern Europe; however, its facul ...
) in 2009.
Simicskó is married and father of three children. He had been a member of the Hungarian Association of Military Science (MHTT) since 1993. He is also involved in the Association of Hungarian Reservists (MATASZ) since 2001. He teaches at the National University of Public Service since 2010.
Simicskó is a practitioner of the
Wing Tsun
Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is pronounced "Yong Chun. ...
, a concept-based
Chinese martial art
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
, where he achieved the 4th master level.
Simicskó was elected president of the Hungarian Modern Pentathlon Union (MÖSZ) in May 2022, replacing Gyula Bretz.
Political career
He joined Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) in 1991 and served as leader of the party's branch in
Kispest
Kispest (lit. ''Little Pest'') is the 19th (XIX) district of Budapest, Hungary. It lies south-southeast of the historical Pest city. It was founded in 1871 on rural land as a village at the borderline of Pest, so it was named Kispest.
Histor ...
from 1994 to 1996. After the party's decline and disintegration, he left KDNP at the end of 1996 and joined the strengthening right-wing Fidesz party.
Simicskó was elected lawmaker from the Budapest regional list of the Fidesz in the
1998 parliamentary election. He became Vice-Chairman of the Committee of National Defence, a position which he had held until 2006 with short interrupts.
After Hungary joining the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in 1999, he was delegated to the Defence and Security Committee of the organization's
Parliamentary Assembly.
He served as Political State Secretary for
Ervin Demeter
Ervin Demeter (born 21 December 1954) is a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Civilian Intelligence Services of Hungary
The Minister without portfolio for Civilian Intelligence Services of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország polgári titk ...
, the
Minister of Civilian Intelligence Services, from 3 May 2000 to 27 May 2002, during the First Orbán Cabinet.
In the
2002 national election, Simicskó was re-elected parliamentarian, however the Fidesz was defeated by the
MSZP
The Hungarian Socialist Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Párt), commonly known by its acronym MSZP, is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social-democratic and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European list of political parties in Hungary, ...
–
SZDSZ
The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party ( hu, Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége – a Magyar Liberális Párt, SZDSZ) was a liberal political party in Hungary.
The SZDSZ was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrat ...
coalition.
In April 2003, Simicskó was the only MP who voted against
joining Join may refer to:
* Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment
*In mathematics:
** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory
** Join (topology), an operation combining two topo ...
the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
following a successful
membership referendum, where the proposal was approved by 83.8% of voters with a voter turnout of 45.6%. Simicskó then argued that there were numerous "questions and uncertainty" around the enlargement and also added, he represented the "majority of the non-voters" when he rejected the parliament's authorization.
Simicskó rejoined the Christian Democrats, which re-established after continuous inward struggles and legal disputes and entered into an alliance with Fidesz. He was elected one of the vice presidents of the party in 2006.
In the
2006 parliamentary election, he became Member of Parliament again and now joined the KDNP parliamentary group. From 2006 to 2010, he functioned as Chairman of the National Security Committee.
Simicskó was elected MP for
Újbuda
Újbuda (lit. ''New Buda'') is the 11th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest XI. kerület), Hungary. It is the most populous district of Budapest with 137,426 inhabitants (2008). Until the 1890s, Újbuda's present territory was a field south of th ...
(
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
Constituency XVI) during the
2010 parliamentary election.
Following the landslide victory of the Fidesz in the 2010 parliamentary election, Simicskó was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 2 June 2010, under Minister
Csaba Hende.
According to press reports, the relationship between Hende and Simicskó was tense and conflictual in the next two years. On 7 October 2012, Simicskó was replaced as Secretary of State for Defence by MP
Tamás Vargha. He became Secretary of State for Sports in the Ministry of Human Resources on the following day, succeeding
Attila Czene
Attila Czene (born 20 June 1974) is a former medley swimmer from Hungary, who won the gold medal in the 200 m individual medley at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native co ...
. In the
2014 parliamentary election Simicskó was re-elected MP again, representing Újbuda (Budapest Constituency II). He defeated opposition candidate
István Józsa.
Simicskó was appointed to the position of Minister of Defence in September 2015 after the resignation of Csaba Hende during the
European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...
, with the speed at constructing a
wall on the border with Serbia being an issue for Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between 20 ...
. Simicskó was re-elected MP for Újbuda during the
2018 parliamentary election, defeating
Erzsébet Gy. Németh. He was replaced as Minister of Defence by Col. Gen.
Tibor Benkő. Simicskó was appointed one of the recorders of the National Assembly in June 2018.
He held the latter position until July 2020, when he was elected leader of the KDNP parliamentary group, replacing
Péter Harrach.
Simicskó was defeated by opposition candidate
Anna Orosz
Anna Orosz (born June 2, 1989, Budapest) is a Hungarian economist and politician, Member of Parliament since 2022. From March 2017 to May 2018 she was a member of the board of the Momentum Movement. From October 2019 local government representativ ...
in Újbuda constituency during the
2022 parliamentary election, nevertheless he gained a mandate via the national list of
Fidesz–KDNP
Fidesz–KDNP Party Alliance ( hu, Fidesz–KDNP pártszövetség), formerly also known as the Alliance of Hungarian Solidarity ( hu, Magyar Szolidaritás Szövetsége), is a right-wing national conservatism, national conservative political allian ...
. Simicskó became a member of the parliament's National Security Committee.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simicsko, Istvan
1961 births
Living people
Defence ministers of Hungary
Fidesz politicians
Christian Democratic People's Party (Hungary) politicians
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1998–2002)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2002–2006)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2006–2010)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2010–2014)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2014–2018)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2018–2022)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2022–2026)
People from Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County
Eötvös Loránd University alumni