Katalin Novak Biography – The President of Hungary

Katalin Éva Veresné Novák (born 6 September 1977) is a Hungarian politician who is the current president of Hungary since 2022. Elected at the age of 44, she was the first woman and youngest person ever to hold the post. Prior to her presidency, she had been a member of the National Assembly for Fidesz from 2018 to 2022, during which time she had also served as Minister for Family Affairs in the fourth Orbán government, from 2020 to 2021.

In early 2024, Novák became embroiled in a scandal involving her April 2023 presidential pardon of Endre Kónya, a former deputy director of an orphanage in Bicske who had been imprisoned due to his involvement in a pedophilia case implicating the orphanage’s director. She announced her resignation on February 10, 2024, which will become effective when it is accepted by the Hungarian parliament.

Education

After completing her secondary education at the Ságvári Endre Secondary School [hu] at Szeged in 1996, Novák studied economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest and law at the University of Szeged. While a student, she also studied abroad at the Paris Nanterre University. In addition to her native Hungarian, Novák speaks French, English, German, and Spanish.

Political career

Novák began working at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001, specializing in European Union and European matters. In 2010, she became a ministerial advisor. and was appointed Head of Cabinet of the Ministry of Human Resources in 2012.

In 2014 she became State Secretary for Family and Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Human Capacities, eventually becoming Minister of Family Affairs in October 2020. She held this position until December 2021.

She served as Vice President of Fidesz between 2017 and 2021.

On 21 December 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Novák would be Fidesz’s nominee in the 2022 presidential election. On 10 March 2022, she won gaining 137 out of 188 votes in the National Assembly. Novák is the first woman to hold the office of president in its history.

Presidency

In April 2023, the National Assembly passed a bill enabling and encouraging citizens to report same-sex couples who raise children to the state authorities, such as police and child protection. Novák vetoed the bill, and formally prevented it from becoming enacted into law. In May 2022, she condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the context of the 2023 Israel-Gaza war, she condemned Hamas’ attack on Israel and expressed her support for the latter’s right to self-defence. On 5 November 2023, Novák visited Israel to express solidarity with the country.

Pardon scandal and resignation

In April 2023, prior to and in commemoration of Pope Francis’s pastoral visit to Hungary, Novák issued a series of presidential pardons, including one of convicted domestic terrorist György Budaházy and another of Endre Kónya. Kónya had been the deputy director of an orphanage in Bicske who had been convicted of covering up the director’s molesting of children at the institution. When the latter of these two pardons was made public on 2 February 2024, national controversy ensued. Kónya’s case provoked particular public outrage and was seen by commentators as undermining Fidesz’s credibility as a defender of traditional family values. Protests erupted in Budapest demanding Novák’s resignation.

On 9 February, Novák cut short her attendance at the World Water Polo Championships in Qatar and flew home to Budapest, where she announced her resignation shortly after arriving on 10 February. In her resignation address, she also apologized to Kónya’s victims. Judit Varga, who was serving as Minister of Justice in 2023 and had countersigned the pardon, also resigned as a Member of Parliament and withdrew her candidacy for member of the European Parliament in the 2024 election. In response, Orbán said that he would introduce a constitutional amendment to bar convicted child abusers from receiving clemency.

By law, the National Assembly has to accept her resignation before it can come into effect. There is no line of succession under Hungarian law; instead, when a vacancy occurs, the speaker of the National Assembly (in this case László Kövér) performs the duties of acting president until the inauguration of the next president.

Personal life

Katalin Novák is married and has three children. Her husband is economist István Veres, director of the Financial Market and Foreign Exchange Market Directorate at the Hungarian National Bank (MNB). She is a Reformed Christian.

Honours and awards

Domestic

•  Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen (2022)
  According to the Constitution of Hungary’s CCII/2011 law the president of Hungary receives the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen ex-officio.
•  Grand Cross with Chain of the Hungarian Order of Merit (2022)
  According to the Constitution of Hungary’s CCII/2011 law the president of Hungary receives the Grand Cross with Chain of the Hungarian Order of Merit ex-officio.

Foreign

•  France: Knight (Chevalier) of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2019)
•  Poland: Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2019)
•  Portugal: Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry (2023)

Dynastic

•  House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I (2023)