Katalin Novák – Hungary’s First Female President

March 12, 2022

Katalin Novák, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has been elected as Hungary’s first female president by the Hungarian parliament.

Overview:

Novák, who was most recently a minister for family policy, described her victory as a win for women.
She won 137 votes to 51 in the parliament, which is dominated by Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party, defeating opponent Peter Rona, an economist.
Novák will be succeeding Janos Ader, a co-founder of Orban’s ruling Fidesz party who has served as prime minister since 2012.
After Ader’s term ends on May 10, she will take office.
Novák has been the face of government initiatives which include encouraging young families to have more children, as well as giving significant tax breaks.

About Katalin Novak

In 1977, Katalin Novák was born in Szeged and she attended the National University of Public Service (NKE) in Budapest, the University of Szeged. Novák began her political career as an advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001 which she left in 2003. In 2010, she became an advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in 2012, she became the Minister of Human Resources’ Head of Cabinet. Novák rose to State Secretary for Family and Youth after the 2014 elections. She was even one of Fidesz’s deputy party leaders between 2017 and 2021, and she has been a member of parliament since 2018. She had been Hungary’s Minister of Family and Youth since 2020, but resigned when she decided to run for president.

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