Zsuzsanna Szelényi (born 6 October 1966) is a Hungarian author, politician, and foreign policy expert. She is the Director of the Democracy Institute Leadership Academy for Central and Eastern Europe. Her book 'Tainted Democracy, Viktor Orban and the Subversion of Hungary' was published in 2022. She served as Member of the Parliament (MP) from 1990 to 1994 (
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 ...
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 ...
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student b ...
in the US Global Master of Arts Program.
Her husband is Ferenc Karvalits, a former vice governor 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 ...
. They have three children.
Career
Zsuzsanna Szelényi joined Fidesz during the
transition to democracy
Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction.
Whether and to what ...
in 1988 and served on the party's board in the early days. She was elected Member of Parliament at 24 from her party's Veszprém County Regional List in 1990. Szelényi held membership positions in several national parliamentary committees: Education, Youth, and Sports Committee (1992), Social, Family, and Health Committee (1992–1994), and Committee on Foreign Affairs (1994). She was delegated 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 ...
. She left Fidesz in 1994 when the party changed its political position from liberal to conservative.
Szelényi served as Ministerial Commissioner in the Ministry of Education between 1994 and 1996.Az iskolának valódi közösségként kellene működnie – Egyenlítő-beszélgetés Szelényi Zsuzsával /ref> She worked for the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
from 1996 to 2010, as deputy director of the European Youth Centre Budapest advising governments and civil society organizations. From 2010 to 2012 she worked as an international development consultant in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
and
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. She participated in the activities of several non-profit organizations, including the Active Citizenship Foundation, German Marshall Fund of the United States Marshall Memorial Fellowship, and the Hungarian Europe Society.
She co-founded the liberal Together party led by former PM
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 ...
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 became MP from the party's list. She served as a member of the
Committee on Budgets The Committee on Budgets (BUDG) is a committee of the European Parliament. It has 41 members plus 39 substitute members. The committee's current chair is Jean Arthuis, who has held this position since 7 July 2014. She did extensive foreign policy work and built the Visegrad4Europe network among pro-European politicians and think tanks in Central and Eastern Europe.
In 2019 she was invited to be Europe's Future fellow at the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen in Vienna. In 2020 she was offered
Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobili ...
Fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin.
In 2022 she took the position of the founding director of the Democracy Institute Leadership Academy at 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 ...