Ágnes Vadai (born 11 February 1974) is a Hungarian politician and international relations scholar. She 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 repr ...

of Hungary since 2002. In her first several terms she was a representative 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 ...

. She was a founding member of the Democratic Coalition when it was a faction within the Hungarian Socialist Party, and became its vice president after it became a separate political party. She speaks six languages, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Norwegian and German.

Career and Life

Vadai was born in

Karcag Karcag () is a large town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. Geography Karcag covers an area of and has a population of 20,632 people (2011). Transport Karcag has its own railway station, bu ...

in 1974. She graduated from the Katalin Varga Bilingual Grammar School in

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

in 1992. She then attended the

Budapest University of Technology and Economics The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered ...

, where she graduated in 1997 with a degree in International Relations and European Studies. She then worked as a research fellow in international relations, and studied abroad in Spain and the United States. In 1999 she became a graduate student at the

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') 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 ...

, earning a doctorate in law in 2003. Beginning in 2000 she was a lecturer at the Zrínyi Miklós National Defence University (which later merged with other colleges to become the

National University of Public Service The Ludovika University of Public Service (LUPS; ) 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 faculties as former independe ...

), and in 2007 she was appointed professor there. In 1999, Vadai became a founding member of the Young Left ( hu), the youth wing of the

. In 2000 she became a member of the Karcag municipal leadership of the Hungarian Socialist Party, and in 2004 she joined its national leadership. Vadai was first elected to parliament in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018, always affiliated with the Hungarian Socialist party. From July 2007 to April 2009, she was Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defense. In April 2009, she was again appointed Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defense. Vadai was a founding member of the Democratic Coalition faction of the Hungarian Socialist Party, and after it became an independent political party, she was named its vice president.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vadai, Agnes Living people 1974 births Hungarian political scientists Women members of the National Assembly of Hungary 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) 21st-century Hungarian women politicians People from Karcag Hungarian Socialist Party politicians Democratic Coalition (Hungary) politicians Women political scientists International relations scholars