Zoltán Kovács (politician, Born 1969)
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Zoltán Kovács (born 9 February 1969) is a Hungarian historian and politician. He is
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 ...
's spokesperson and
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
's international spokesperson.


Early life and education

Kovács was born in
Abaújszolnok Abaújszolnok () is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the nor ...
during the
Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...
era. He graduated from Endre Ságvári High School in
Kazincbarcika Kazincbarcika is an industrial town in Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén county, Northern Hungary. It is the district seat of Kazincbarcika District. It lies in the valley of the Sajó river, from the county capital, Miskolc. History Kazincbarcika ...
in 1987. He began his university studies in 1988 at the
University of Debrecen The University of Debrecen ( ) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its establishment in 1538. The university has a well established progra ...
, specializing in history and geography. In 1990, he became member of the István Szabó College. Between 1991 and 1992, Kovács was a demonstrator at the Institute of History of Lajos Kossuth University. He began his master's studies at
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) in 1992. In 1993, he obtained an honours degree in history from Lajos Kossuth University, and then a master's degree from CEU. During his studies, he received numerous scholarships. In August 1994, he studied in Austria as part of a summer university, in connection with the country's accession to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. As a result, he has advanced English and conversational German skills. From 1995 to 2000, Kovács was a lecturer at the Lajos Kossuth University 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 ...
while receiving a doctoral scholarship at CEU. Meanwhile, he received a four-month research grant at the
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
and then at the
Woodrow Wilson Center The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of Congress in 1968, it serves as both ...
. From 1999 to 2004, he was a teaching assistant and then an assistant professor at the Institute of History of the
University of Miskolc The University of Miskolc (before 1990: ''Technical University of Heavy Industry'') is the largest university of Northern Hungary. Location Most of the buildings can be found in Egyetemváros ("University Town"), a part of the city of Miskolc. ...
. He received his PhD from the University of Debrecen in 2001 and a year later from CEU. In 2004, he became an assistant professor at the Institute of History of the University of Debrecen. From 2005 to 2006, he was a member of the faculty of
McDaniel College Budapest McDaniel College Budapest is the European campus of McDaniel College, an accredited, private college of the Liberal Arts and Sciences, located in Westminster, Maryland, United States. It offers a standard American four-year undergraduate program ...
. His research interests include the history of
public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...
,
communication theory Communication theory is a proposed description of communication phenomena, the relationships among them, a storyline describing these relationships, and an argument for these three elements. Communication theory provides a way of talking about a ...
, early modern and
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
diplomatic history, and the history of England and Great Britain.


Career

While still a university student, Kovács joined the student government of Kossuth Lajos University, of which he was also the president for a short time. He joined
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 ...
in 1997, and he did continuous background work from 2000. He was the founding editor of ''Debrecen Disputa'', a cultural and public journal. He is responsible for the design of the interface of DEOL (''Debrecen Online''), as well as the design and professional management of the website of the city institutions. In 2006, Kovács was elected a municipal representative in Debrecen and at the same time the municipality's communications adviser. During this time, he was a delegate of the Association of County-Right Cities in the Board of Trustees of the Hungarian Television Public Foundation and a member of the Political Committee of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. In 2008, he was the head of the Hungarian delegation of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) during the American election campaign. In 2010, Kovács was appointed Secretary of State for Government Communication, a position he held until 2012, when he was appointed Secretary of State for Social Relations at the Ministry of Human Resources. From 2013 to 2014, he was Hungary's Secretary of State for Social Inclusion at the Ministry of Administration and Justice. In 2014, Kovács became Hungary's international spokesperson. Kovács opposes the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
's relocation scheme, which seeks to share migrants, following the
European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...
, between member states according to quotas. Ahead of the
2016 Hungarian migrant quota referendum A referendum related to the European Union's migrant relocation plans was held in Hungary on 2 October 2016. The referendum was initiated by the government, under the provision of article 8 of the new constitution of 2012. It was commonly referr ...
, he described it as "unlawful, unworkable and dangerous". In 2018, as a non-elected representative, Kovács expressed his view that only elected representatives have a legitimate right to participate in public life. As Hungary's spokesperson for the Orbán government, he rejected Italy's pleas for the government to intervene in the Ilaria Salis affair. On X (formerly
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
), he wrote: "We have to make it clear that no one, no extreme left-wing group, should see Hungary as some kind of boxing ring where they come and plan to beat someone to death. And no, no direct request from the Italian government (or any major media outlet) to the Hungarian government will make it easier to defend Salis's case, because the government, as in any other modern democracy, has no control over the courts."


References


External links


World Questions: Europe and Hungary
– a
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
debate involving Kovács, 8 October 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacs, Zoltan 21st-century Hungarian historians 1969 births Living people People from Abaújszántó Fidesz politicians Central European University alumni