Előd Kincses (2 October 1941 – 25 June 2025) was a Romanian-Hungarian lawyer, legal and public writer.

Life and career

Kincses was born 2 October 1941 in

Târgu Mureș Târgu Mureș (, ; ; German language, German: ''Neumarkt am Mieresch'') is the seat of Mureș County in the historical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is the list of cities and towns in Romania, 16th-largest city in Romania, with 116,033 ...

(). He became a legal advisor in his hometown in 1964. He was a member of the Romanian Lawyers' Association, and his legal commentaries were published in ''the Revista Română de Drept''. He also regularly published articles on sports in Új Élet. In 1989, he was the defense counsel of

László Tőkés László Tőkés ( ; born 1 April 1952) is an ethnically Hungarian pastor and politician from Romania. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2007 to 2019. Tőkés served as a Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2010 ...

in his eviction trial, which eventually led to the

1989 Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revoluti ...

. On 2 January 1990, as the successor of

Károly Király Károly Király (26 September 1930 – 4 November 2021) was a Romanian politician. A member of the Communist Party of Romania and, after the Romanian Revolution, of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, he served in the Great Nati ...

, he became the vice-president of the National Salvation Front and the

Provisional Council of National Unity The Provisional Council of National Unity (PCNU; , ) was a provisional governmental body during the early 1990s in Romania. At that time, it was headed by Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer w ...

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

. During the "Black March" of 19–20 March 1990, he played a key role in shaping events as vice-president. With his personal actions, he prevented thousands of Szeklers from

Harghita Harghita County (, and , ) is a county () in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea Ciuc. Demographics 2002 census In 2002, Harghita County had a population of 326,222 and a population density of ...

and

Covasna Covasna (, , , ) is a town in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania, at an altitude of . It is known for its natural mineral waters and mofettas. The town administers one village, Chiuruș (). The village has a population of 451 and has an abs ...

counties from entering Târgu Mureș, as he believed that the power of the time needed an escalation of the riots. After the clashes, he asked the Hungarian population of Târgu Mureș as a responsible leader to go home and not respond to the provocations. Seeing the situation deteriorate, he repeatedly asked for the intervention of the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

and

Police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

, which was repeated by ''Radio Târgu Mureș''. In the face of the lack of help and order, as well as the increasing clashes, he appealed to the Hungarian population of Târgu Mureș to defend themselves, and he also asked for the help of the surrounding villages with a Hungarian majority to come to help and prevent the influx of Romanian armed peasants into the city. His decision proved to be the right one, and the people of Târgu Mureș finally defended themselves. Following the ethnic clashes, he became the focus of attacks by Romanian extremist elements, and sought refuge in Hungary and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

during the period of the first arrests and show trials. From December 1991 to August 1992, he was the Secretary General of the World Federation of Hungarians. He later worked as a lawyer 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 ...

, and when the political situation subsided, he returned to

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2008 local elections in the area of

Marosszék Marosszék () was one of the seats in the historical Székely Land. It was named after the Maros, a river with the biggest discharge in the seat. The composer Zoltán Kodály wrote the '' Dances of Marosszék'' (1927, for piano, later orchestrated ...

, but was defeated by

Béla Markó Béla Markó (born 8 September 1951) is a Romanian politician and writer of Hungarian ethnicity. He is married with three children. He is reportedly, a follower of reformed Christianity. The former leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungari ...

. Kincses died in Târgu Mureș on 25 June 2025, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kincses, Elod 1941 births 2025 deaths People from Târgu Mureș Hungarian lawyers Romanian lawyers People of the Romanian revolution