Katalin Lévai (born May 22, 1954, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) is a Hungarian politician and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for the

Hungarian Socialist Party The Hungarian Socialist Party (, ), commonly known by its acronym MSZP (), is a centre-left to left-wing social-democratic and pro-European political party in Hungary. It was founded on 7 October 1989 as a post-communist evolution and one of t ...

, part of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all the European Economic Area, European economic area states (EEA) plus the Unit ...

. Lévai is a maverick and social-liberal politician who is willing to use bombastic statements to draw attention to the social and equality issues. In 2003 was named the first minister without portfolio for equal opportunities, and was termed the 'Conscience of the Government'. In 2005 she became a presidential candidate in Hungary. Due to 'inside issues' the left government in place managed to vote a right wing president, thus her aspirations were unsuccessful. She is one of the most fervent supporters of same-sex marriage in Hungary. She also works to mainstream gender equality issues at all levels of decision making, for removing obstacles – physical and mental as well – that hinder disabled people in accessing social services as equal citizens, and for effective measures ensuring the social integration of Roma people in Hungary and in the region. Besides the active participation in the legislation process of the European Union, Lévai initiated several practical projects that offer direct services to the citizens and contribute to a more inclusive society in Hungary: the first Hungarian crisis-intervention centre was established for the victims of violence and the network of „Houses of Chances” is being built in all regions of Hungary with the aim of co-ordinating local services to the citizens (direct social assistance, legal aid, mental help, etc.) Newly, Katalin Lévai is also known as a writer. She is the author of several books, publications in the past on her professional work, in November 2007 her third semi-fiction has been published, selling well on the Hungarian market. Good writing style, with some political input, ought to be a good read who still believe that even politicians are human. She was the party's candidate at the District II of Budapest

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in November 2011. She came second with 30.55 percent after Zsolt Láng (

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal. Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...

). In September 2017, Katalin Lévai and György Földényi, the President of the National Representative Body of Pensioners founded a new political party For Hungary With Vigour () to work for the interests of pensioners, and the party mainly focuses on issues related to health care, taxes and pensioners' issues. Lévai lives between Brussels and Budapest. She has a daughter, herself a journalist, Nóra Lakos.

References

External links

''The Socialist Group of the European Parliament''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levai, Katalin 1954 births Living people Hungarian Socialist Party politicians Hungarian Socialist Party MEPs MEPs for Hungary 2004–2009 Women MEPs for Hungary 21st-century Hungarian politicians