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János Áder (; born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer who served as
President of Hungary The president of Hungary, officially the president of the republicUnder the Basic Law, adopted in 2011, the official name of the state is simply Hungary; Before, the state was called the Republic of Hungary. However, the office is nonetheless ...
from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time politician of the
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
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 ...
. As a representative of his party, he took part in the Hungarian Round Table Talks during the
end of communism in Hungary Communist rule in the People's Republic of Hungary came to an end in 1989 by a peaceful transition to a democratic system. After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was suppressed by Soviet forces, Hungary remained a communist country. As the ...
in 1989. He was a member of 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 1990 to 2009 and served as its speaker from 1998 to 2002. He temporarily presided the Fidesz between 2002 and 2003. He served as leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group between 2002 and 2006. Áder was elected a MEP during the
2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Member of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent s ...
. He functioned as Deputy Chairman of the
European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) is a committee of the European Parliament. It has 81 full members and is currently chaired by Antonio Decaro. Evolution During the 1990s its relatively low importance led to ...
from January to May 2012. Áder became President of Hungary, after his predecessor
Pál Schmitt Pál Schmitt (; born 1942) is a Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician who served as President of Hungary from 2010 until his resignation in 2012, following his academic misconduct controversy. Schmitt was a successful fencer in his ...
resigned due to a plagiarism controversy. Since
Árpád Göncz Árpád Göncz (; 10 February 1922 – 6 October 2015) was a Hungarian writer, translator, lawyer and liberal politician who served as President of Hungary from 2 May 1990 to 4 August 2000. Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution of 19 ...
, János Áder was the first head of state, who was re-elected and able to complete two terms. He was ineligible to run for a third term. He was succeeded by fellow Fidesz politician Katalin Novák.


Life and career

János Áder was born into a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
family in the small town of
Csorna Csorna is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary. Csorna is located near the Fertő-Hanság National Park. There are two districts in the town: the Földsziget and the Csatárimajor. Etymology The name comes from Slavic languages, Slavic '' ...
in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, the son of shop assistant János Áder, Sr. (1932–1980) and accountant Terézia Szabó (born 1938), who worked for the local hospital and retired from there as deputy director for financial affairs. Áder grew up in his hometown and completed his elementary studies there.Verseck, Keno. "Close Orban Ally is Hungary's New President." MSN News. 2 May 2012.
Accessed 2012-05-05.
Beginning in 1978, he studied law for five years at the faculty of Law and Political Sciences at
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 ...
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 ...
."János ÁDER." Members of the European Parliament. European Parliament. No date.
Accessed 2012-05-05.
From 1986 to 1990, he was a research fellow at the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...
' Sociological Research Institute. By the late 1980s, Áder had joined"Alapító atya-e Áder János?"
Magyar Narancs ''Magyar Narancs'' (, ''Hungarian Orange'') is a weekly Liberalism, liberal magazine with a strong satirical tone appearing on Thursdays in Hungary. It is informally referred to as Mancs (''Paw'' in English) which is a joking abbreviation of the ...
. 17 April 2012. Accessed 2013-02-15.
the nascent
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 ...
, a liberal-democratic party at the time,"Hungary: Janos Ader Replaces Pal Schmitt as President."
BBC.co.uk. 2 May 2012. Accessed 2012-05-04.
serving as a party legal expert. He became a member of the Opposition Round Table talks that negotiated an end to single-party rule in Hungary in 1989.Hodgson, Robert. "Áder a Shoe-In for President." ''Budapest Times.'' 20 April 2012.
Accessed 2012-05-04.
Áder began his national political career during this transition to democracy, serving as the leader of Fidesz's national campaigns during the
1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
and 1994 parliamentary elections and as an MP from 1990 to 2009. During his twelve-year parliamentary tenure Áder served in a variety of leadership roles. From 9 September 1997 to 17 June 1998 he served as Deputy Speaker 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 ...
, and, during the first Orbán government (18 June 1998 – 15 May 2002), as Speaker 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 ...
. With Fidesz in opposition after the 2002 election, Áder led the Fidesz caucus opposition.


MEP

Áder ran successfully as a candidate during the 2009 European-parliamentary election and consequently resigned from the Hungarian parliament. On 23 January 2012, he was elected a deputy chairman of the European Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. In 2011, following Fidesz's supermajority victory at the Hungarian polls one year earlier, Áder helped draft legislation modifying Hungary's judiciary and electoral laws; the former was challenged (but upheld) before the
European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
.


Presidency (2012-2022)


First term

On 16 April 2012, Áder was selected by the majority of the parliament, and became the new President of Hungary after the resignation of
Pál Schmitt Pál Schmitt (; born 1942) is a Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician who served as President of Hungary from 2010 until his resignation in 2012, following his academic misconduct controversy. Schmitt was a successful fencer in his ...
. He was elected on 2 May to a five-year term by a vote of 262–40,Kuli, Alex. "Hungary Elects Orban Ally as New President." ''Associated Press.'' 2 May 2012. and assumed office on 10 May 2012. He is consequently the first president to hold that office since the new Hungarian constitution took effect on 1 January 2012. János Áder met
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
at a working dinner in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
on 15 July 2012, and invited the Israeli President for an official visit to Hungary. Áder told that their conversation had focused on deepening scientific cooperation between the two countries, in which Hungary could benefit from Israel's experience in areas such as farming and water management. On 16 July, he told a commemoration of
Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...
in the
Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
, that
The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
is "the tragedy of mankind without parallel". He said the rise of
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
in several countries in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
had been discussed, he said, "adding that steps against such phenomena must be taken together". Later, The Simon Wiesenthal Centre asked Áder in an open letter sent to MTI to help bring alleged Nazi war criminal László Csizsik-Csatáry to justice "as quickly as possible". Áder said Hungary's new constitution guarantees constitutional rights and catered for fourth generation human rights in his address of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on 25 September 2012. These include Article P, which states that "natural resources, especially the farmland, forests and the drinking water supplies, the biodiversity – in particular native plant and animal species – and the cultural assets shall form part of the nation's common heritage; the State and every person shall be obliged to protect, sustain and preserve them for future generations". He mentioned especially the water supply, and how short-sighted and irrational it was the way "we pollute our waters". Áder also told Hungary has taken active part in the work of the UN's Friends of Water working group. Hungary hosted a conference on water and sanitation in Budapest in 2013. He sent the election procedures bill to the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
for preliminary legal review on 6 December 2012. He stressed in a statement that the bill passed by Parliament on 26 November guarantees free and democratic elections. On 3 January 2013, the Court ruled that the law curtailed voting rights to an unjustifiable degree, due to the fact that the requirement for voters to register prior to going to the polls applies to every voter. As a result, Antal Rogán announced the government will not introduce voter pre-registration in the 2014 parliamentary election. On 13 March 2013, Áder said he would sign the controversial fourth amendment to Hungary's constitution. He stated that he had made his decision in view of his promise that as President of Hungary he would carry out the responsibilities conferred on him by the constitution without fail. "It is my unequivocal constitutional duty to sign and declare this constitutional amendment as law. This is regardless of whose tastes the changes meet and regardless of whether I like it or not", he said. Áder read letters, messages and the "clever and sometimes indignant and politically-charged arguments of experts". "I was guided by the single goal which is in harmony with my presidential oath: to represent the constitutional order and the unity of the nation," he said. Accordingly, Áder signed the constitutional amendment on 25 March 2013. In June 2013, Áder apologised in the
national parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
for Hungarians' war crimes against civilian Serbs in
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Some days earlier the Serbian lawmakers adopted a declaration, which condemned the massacre in Vojvodina in 1944-45 and resolutions made under the principle of collective guilt during the war. Áder said "although nobody can undo those crimes, we still believe that forgiveness following a mutual apology can point beyond reconciliation. Because we, Hungarians of today, and Serbs of today, stand united as one on the side of the innocent victims. The legacy we want to pass on to our children is that of life, justice and cooperation, and not that of death, untruth and hatred". Continuing his efforts in the European Parliament, Áder emphasized the importance of environmental protection and the fight against
global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
. In January 2015, he announced the establishment of an Environmental Sustainability Directorate within the President's Office.
Csaba Kőrösi Csaba Kőrösi (; born 1958) is a Hungarians, Hungarian diplomat who served as President of the United Nations General Assembly, President of the 77th United Nations General Assembly.Kyoto agreement on a new basis. Opposition news portal ''
Index Index (: indexes or indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on the Halo Array in the ...
'' claimed Áder intended to candidate for the position of
Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
during the 2016 selection process to succeed
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
, and his climate policy and efforts were part of his international campaign. Áder would not comment on the assumption, and his alleged ambition of candidacy had never materialized. In December 2015, he delivered a speech during the
United Nations Climate Change Conference The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties – the conference of the par ...
in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he called the next 25 years as the "period when the impacts of
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
posed a direct threat to human civilization." He welcomed the ratification of the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
, which he called a very important step for Hungary, as "the
Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...
is more affected by climate change than several other European countries," he said. In June 2016, Áder wrote a letter to the heads of state of the world's top ten carbon dioxide-emitting countries to persuade them to tighten their reduction targets.
Jobbik The Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary (, ), commonly known as Jobbik (), and previously known as Conservatives () between 2023 and 2024, is a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Hungary, political party in Hungary. Ori ...
politician Lajos Kepli accused Áder, as while he fights for the interests of environmental protection at the international level, he failed to criticize the Orbán government for their precluding domestic policy. " �dersees no problem with the taxation on solar panels, he is not bothered by the arbitrary cessation of energy efficiency tenders .." Kepli argued. In contrast to his predecessor Schmitt, who during his presidency of almost two years did not send any bill which had been voted on by the National Assembly back for consideration by the legislature, nor submit any to the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
for judicial review, Áder proved to be a counterweight to the Orbán government on a number of important issues. Beyond the withdrawal of election procedures bill in December 2012, Áder refused to sign the new land law which was intended to pass the right of management of
national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
to the National Land Fund Managing Organization (NFA), in accordance with his environmental objectives. Áder also used his veto power in March 2016 on the controversial bill which would have declared public funds allocated to the foundations of the
Hungarian National Bank The Hungarian National Bank ( , MNB) is the central bank of Hungary and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It was established in 1924 as a successor entity of the Austro-Hungarian Bank, under the economic assistance ...
(MNB) as "private funds". Left-wing liberal journalist Gábor Miklósi (''
Index Index (: indexes or indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on the Halo Array in the ...
'') summarized Áder's presidency with that argument that the president remained silent on the really important matters and "his rare criticism does not hinder but legitimizes Hungary's increasingly authoritarian political system".


Second term

Áder's rejection of electoral registration and reclassification of MNB public funds were serious political setbacks for
Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...
, who, as a result, reportedly considered replacing Áder with a less independent candidate in the 2017 presidential election. In April 2016, for example, pro-government news portal '' Origo'' claimed that Áder's imminent dismissal was "almost certain." Then, in May 2016, MP György Rubovszky was recorded as saying, during a parliamentary committee session, that "Viktor rbánwould not allow it �der's reelection" On 8 December 2016, opposition media outlet ATV claimed that Orbán was grooming Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog to succeed Áder. ATV added that Áder's neutrality during the October 2016 migrant quota referendum campaign had harmed the "relationship of trust" between him and Orbán. In contrast to ATV, ''Origo'' reported three days later that Áder would remain president. Origo added that "only" Áder would make the decision about his candidacy for reelection, but had asked for time to consider his candidacy. On 21 December, it was reported that Orbán had requested the party leadership to select Áder as the governing coalition's nominee for president. Parliamentary group leader
Lajos Kósa Lajos Kósa (born 14 March 1964) is a Hungarian politician, who served as Mayor of Debrecen between 1998 and 2014. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1990. Kósa was appointed one of the four Vice Presidents of the Fidesz party in 2007, a ...
officially announced Áder's nomination on the same day. On 29 December, Áder accepted the nomination, calling his presidential role a "constitutional service". An ''
Index Index (: indexes or indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on the Halo Array in the ...
'' analysis argued that the government had not been able to find a suitable successor for Balog's ministry and that Áder had not actually caused any "big trouble" during his first term, since the president had supported the government's "most important" measures. Áder's re-election thus "did not represent a significant political risk" to Orbán. Áder was re-elected for a second five-year term by the Hungarian parliament by a vote of 131–39 on 13 March 2017. His opponent was legal scholar
László Majtényi László Majtényi (born 30 November 30, 1950) is a Hungarian jurist, university professor and doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA). His field of research was initially the law of the sea, and later the institution of ombudsmen. E ...
, an independent candidate supported by a coalition of left-wing opposition parties. Áder thus became the second two-term post-communist head of state of Hungary (after
Árpád Göncz Árpád Göncz (; 10 February 1922 – 6 October 2015) was a Hungarian writer, translator, lawyer and liberal politician who served as President of Hungary from 2 May 1990 to 4 August 2000. Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution of 19 ...
, who served as President from 1990 to 2000). Áder took his presidential oath of office on 8 May 2017. During the same period, Áder entered the national and international media spotlight for refusing to submit a government-sponsored revision to Act CCIV of 2011 on National Higher Education for constitutional review. The amendment, known domestically as ''lex CEU'', impacted foreign-operating universities, including the
Central European University Central European University (CEU; , ) is a private research university in Vienna. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, which are accredited in Austria and the United States. The univ ...
(CEU). Áder signed the educational amendment into law on 10 April despite protest and criticism from both domestic and international activists, scholars, and academic institutions, claiming the amendment did not seem to conflict with the constitution or international treaties. Áder's decision sparked a protest in front of the Sándor Palace, while Wikipedia pages about Áder in several languages were vandalized. The Hungarian parliament passed the law granting plenary power to the Government which authorizes it to override acts and to
rule by decree Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged promulgation of law by a single person or group of people, usually without legislative approval. While intended to allow rapid responses to a crisis, rule by decree is easily ab ...
to the extent that is "necessary and proportional" in order to "prevent, manage, and eradicate the epidemic and to avoid and mitigate its effects", on 30 March 2020. After promulgating the law, Áder announced that he had concluded that the time frame of the Government's authorization would be definite and its scope would be limited.
Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...
, the
President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...
, stated that she was concerned about the Hungarian emergency measures and that it should be limited to what is necessary and Minister of State Michael Roth suggested that economic sanctions should be used against Hungary. In April 2021, President János Áder and First Lady Anita Herczeg established a charity foundation in order to financially support those orphaned children who lost their parents during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. According to Áder, "more than 600 children and 400 families" had been affected at the time of the announcement. Their foundation was named after Catholic priest and
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
István Regőczi, who taught and cared for World War II orphans. Beside Áder and his wife – who made the first donation, altogether 5 million HUF (EUR 13,850) – clinical psychologist Emőke Bagdy and climate researcher
Diana Ürge-Vorsatz Diana Ürge-Vorsatz is a Hungarian scientist. She is Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and professor of Environmental Sciences at Central European University. She was the Director of the Center for Climate Change and Su ...
became members of the board of trustees. Investigate journal Direkt36 revealed in December 2021 that some of Áder's bodyguards formerly had been targeted with the
Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
spyware in several months in 2019. Journalist Szabolcs Panyi concluded that "the most likely reason f the wiretappingwas the conflict between the various law enforcement agencies, which took a bitter turn when the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) wanted to know the details of Áder's schedule." Accordingly, Áder and his staff were originally protected by TEK until 2015, but the president's confidence had been severely eroded towards the agency, because TEK passed on information about President János Áder's private schedule to Viktor Orbán, who then was well informed about his programs and all his meetings. Thereafter, Áder was protected by the newly established Presidential Guard, which operated within the Hungarian Police. Áder was ineligible to run in the 2022 Hungarian presidential election due to term limits. He was succeeded by fellow Fidesz politician Katalin Novák, who was elected by 137 out of 199 MPs. According to an analysis of independent news portal Telex.hu, Áder did not become a counterweight to the Orbán governments with two-thirds majority; most of the cases (most of them were "indifferent" laws) he only complained about formal issues and not about the content. However, he did not object to the really significant laws (e.g. constitutional amendments, "lex CEU", "lex Soros", "overtime law", separation of research institutions from the MTA, "coronavirus law"). During his presidency, Áder did not speak on divisive issues and never confronted his former party in the ten years. After his retirement, Áder was granted a luxurious villa in
Buda Hills The Buda Hills ( Hungarian: ''Budai-hegység'') are a low mountain range of numerous hills which dot the Buda side of Budapest, capital of Hungary. The most famous ones located within city limits are Gellért Hill, Castle Hill, Rózsadomb, , ...
and an €11,500 monthly pension.


Family

Since 1984, Áder has been married to Anita Herczegh, who works as a judge. They have three daughters, Orsolya, Borbála, Júlia and a son, András. János Áder has a sister, Annamária (born 1960), a biology and geography high school teacher, who married footballer and manager Gábor Pölöskei. She was appointed head of the Klebelsberg Institution Maintenance Centre (KLIK) on 1 March 2016. He is a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. Áder's father-in-law, Géza Herczegh, was a judge of the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
at
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
from 1993 to 2003.


Honours and awards


Domestic

*
Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen The Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen ( Hungarian: ''Magyar Szent István Rend'') is the highest state honour bestowed by the President of Hungary. The order is made up of one grade and is awarded in recognition of the most special merits, outst ...
* Grand Cross with Chain of the
Hungarian Order of Merit The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of Merit of the K ...


Foreign

* Two Sicilian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, Special Class * : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle * :
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise () is a Ukrainian award. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, strengthening the international prestige of Ukraine, develop ...
, 1st class


References


External links


Curriculum Vitae of János Áder
Office of the President of the Republic , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ader, Janos 1959 births Fidesz MEPs Fidesz politicians 20th-century Hungarian lawyers Hungarian Roman Catholics Living people Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1990–1994) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1994–1998) 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) MEPs for Hungary 2009–2014 People from Csorna Presidents of Hungary Speakers of the National Assembly of Hungary Hungarian national conservatives Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class Eötvös Loránd University alumni