Attila Mesterházy
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Attila Mesterházy (born 30 January 1974) is a Hungarian politician, who served as the seventh chairman of 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 ...
(MSZP) from 10 July 2010 to 29 May 2014. He was a Member of Parliament between 2004 and 2022. He was the party's candidate for the position of
Prime Minister of Hungary The prime minister of Hungary () is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the government of Hungary, Cabinet are collectively accountability, accountable for their policies and actions to the National Assembly (Hungary), Par ...
in the
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and 2014 parliamentary elections.


Studies

Mesterházy was born in 1974 in
Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...
, Hungary. In the years 1988–1992 he attended secondary school (Lovassy László Gimnázium) in
Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...
. In 1992–1997 he studied economics at the Corvinus University 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 ...
, obtaining a diploma in 1997. He was a Fellow at the University of
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
in Spain (1995–1996),
Diplomatic Academy of Vienna The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA; German: ''Diplomatische Akademie Wien''), also known as the Vienna School of International Studies, is a postgraduate professional school based in Vienna, Austria, with focused training for students and pro ...
(Vienna School of International Studies) (1996–1998) and the
University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...
in the Netherlands (1997). He was a Ph.D. student at the Corvinus University in Budapest (1997–1999) and then at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences of Semmelweis University in Budapest (2004–2005), but he has not earned a Ph.D. degree.


Political career

In 1997 and in 1998 Mesterházy worked in the Prime Minister's Office as a specialist on economic and European integration. In 1999–2000 he was manager of the
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
firm Hill and Knowlton. In 2000 he returned to the political scene and became an advisor to
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Péter Medgyessy Péter Medgyessy (; born 19 October 1942) is a retired Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 27 May 2002 to 29 September 2004. On 25 August 2004, he resigned over disputes with coalition partner Alliance of Free Democr ...
. In 2002–2004 he served as Secretary of State for Children, Youth and Sports in his office. In 2004 he joined the
National Assembly of Hungary The National Assembly ( ) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to four-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proportional representation: a mixed-member m ...
. From 2004 to 2006 he served as State Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities during the rule of Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány Ferenc Gyurcsány (; born 4 June 1961) is a Hungarian entrepreneur and retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009. Prior to that, he held the position of Government of Hungary, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sp ...
. In 2003 he was a member of the national executive of the MSZP. In April 2009, was one of its vice-presidents, and was appointed leader of its parliamentary caucus. On 12 December 2009, during the MSZP congress, by a vote of 90% of delegates, was elected the Socialist candidate for the post of prime minister in parliamentary elections in 2010. Mesterházy was elected leader of the Socialist Party in July 2010. As chairman of MSZP in the 2010 municipal elections he sang "bikicsunáj", while also using the term "
comrade In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in t ...
s" (''elvtársak'') to address other party members and sympathizers. He was re-elected as party chairman against
Tibor Szanyi Tibor Szanyi (born 13 July 1956) is a Hungarian politician. He is a former member of the Hungarian Socialist Party who was Member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019 and member of the National Assembly In politics, a national assemb ...
on 31 March 2012. During his leadership, Mesterházy stabilized the party which was "in ruins" after the supporters of Ferenc Gyurcsány left MSZP to form Democratic Coalition (DK). However, there were also criticisms that Mesterházy, similar to structure of the right-wing
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 ...
, over-centralized the party and overshadowed his internal opposition and former influential leaders, such as László Kovács, Ildikó Lendvai and
Imre Szekeres Imre Szekeres (born 9 September 1950) is a Hungarian politician of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and former Minister of Defense. Biography Szekeres was born in Szolnok. He is married to a chemical engineer; they have two children. He g ...
. According to the critics, he set up the parliamentary group with own supporters, who occupied the most important positions within the party. Under his leadership, the Socialist Party entered into an alliance with four other parties in January 2014 for the spring parliamentary election. Following a months of wrangling between
Gordon Bajnai György Gordon Bajnai (; born 5 March 1968) is a Hungarian entrepreneur and economist, who served as the Prime Minister of Hungary from 2009 to 2010. Prior to that, he functioned as Government of Hungary, Minister of Local Government and Regiona ...
and him, Mesterházy was elected candidate for Prime Minister of the
Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...
electoral alliance, but his movement failed to win and suffered the largest defeat. After that the electoral coalition disestablished. On the
2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...
, MSZP suffered the largest defeat since the 1990 parliamentary election, gaining third place and only 10% of the votes. After the obvious failure, Mesterházy and the entire presidium of the Socialist Party tendered their resignation. Nevertheless, Mesterházy said he wished to keep his position of parliamentary group leader. However, three days later Mesterházy resigned from his both positions after the critical voices intensified against him. Mesterházy chaired the parliament's Budgetary Committee from September 2016 to May 2018. He was re-elected MP via his party's national list in the
2018 Hungarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 8 April 2018. The elections were the second since the adoption of a new constitution, which came into force on 1 January 2012. The result was a victory for the Fidesz– KDNP alliance, preserving ...
. He became a member of the Budgetary Committee and a vice-chairman of the Foreign Committee. As a member of the consultative interparliamentary organisation since 2006, Mesterházy was elected head of the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly The NATO Parliamentary Assembly serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It consists of delegates from the parliaments of the 32 NATO member countries as well as from associate ...
's Socialist group in November 2018. Mesterházy was elected one of the vice presidents of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in October 2019. Two months later, after the parliament's president Madeleine Moon was defeated in the
2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 12 December 2019, with 47,074,800 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Un ...
and thus she was unable to complete her second term, Mesterházy was appointed as acting President of the NATO PA on 16 December 2019. Mesterházy ran as candidate for his party in Veszprém (
Veszprém County 1st constituency Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...
) during the
2021 Hungarian opposition primary An Parliamentary opposition, opposition Partisan primary, primary was held in Hungary, between 18–28 September 2021 (first round) and 10–16 October 2021 (second round), to select the candidate for Prime Minister of Hungary supported by the opp ...
, but was defeated by DK politician Balázs Csonka. His name was not included in the national list of the opposition alliance
United for Hungary United for Hungary (, ) was a big tent political alliance in Hungary that was formed to compete in the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election, 2022 parliamentary election. The alliance lost the 2022 election, and dissolved shortly after. History ...
too, thus he lost his parliamentary mandate in the
2022 Hungarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 3 April 2022 to elect the National Assembly, coinciding with a referendum. Hungary's incumbent prime minister Viktor Orbán won re-election to a fourth term. Addressing his supporters after the pa ...
. Mesterházy left the Hungarian Socialist Party in April 2023, founding his own party Socialists and Democrats (Szoc-Dem).


Personal life

Attila Mesterházy is married and has two children. He speaks English and Spanish.


References


External links


Adatlapja az MSZP honlapjánTevékenysége a Parlamentben
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mesterhazy, Attila 1974 births Hungarian Socialist Party politicians Living people 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) People from Pécs Corvinus University of Budapest alumni