Vilmos Szabó (born 17 July 1952) is a Hungarian educator and

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) politician, member of the National Assembly (MP) between 1998 and 2014. He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010.

Studies and profession

Szabó was born in Sarud,

Heves County Heves county (, ) lies in northern Hungary, between the right bank of the river Tisza and the Mátra and Bükk mountains. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Pest (county), Pest, Nógrád (county), Nógrád, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and ...

on 17 July 1952. He finished his secondary studies in

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

in 1970. He attended Kossuth Lajos University (today Debrecen University) from 1970 to 1975, where he earned a degree of German-language and historian teacher. He was an assistant lecturer at the

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

(BME) from 1976 to 1988.

Political career

Szabó joined the

Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (, , MSZMP) was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of the Hungarian People's Republic between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working People's Party during the Hungaria ...

(MSZMP) in 1982. Later he became secretary of its

Újbuda Újbuda (lit. ''New Buda'') is the 11th district of Budapest (), Hungary. It is the most populous district of Budapest with 137,426 inhabitants (2008). Until the 1890s, Újbuda's present territory was a field south of the historical town of Buda. ...

(11th District of

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 ...

) branch. He was a founding member of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) in 1989. He was a member of the local representative body of Újbuda from 1990 to 1994. He was appointed chairman of the MSZP local branch in Újbuda in 1994. He was a member of the

General Assembly of Budapest The General Assembly of Budapest ( ) is a unicameral body consisting of 33 members, who are elected by proportional representation in a single citywide constituency with an electoral threshold of 5%, and the Mayor of Budapest (who is Direct elect ...

between 1994 and 1998. He functioned as Head of the MSZP's International Secretariat from 1994 to 2002. He was elected a Member of Parliament via his party's national list in the 1998 parliamentary election. He became a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, continuing his work there until 2014. He was re-elected MP in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. He served as Political Secretary of State in the Prime Minister's Office between 2002 and 2006, in the cabinets of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2010 under minister Péter Balázs in the government of

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 ...

. He was deputy leader of the MSZP parliamentary group from 2010 to 2011. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mihály Táncsics Foundation in 2011. He was a member of the Parliamentary Committee for National Communion between 2011 and 2014. He was deputy leader of the Hungarian delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

between 2010 and 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szabo, Vilmos 1952 births Living people Hungarian educators Members of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party Hungarian Socialist Party politicians 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) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2010–2014) People from Heves County