János Áder is the incumbent President of Hungary who took the office on 10 May 2012. Prior to holding the post of President, Áder was Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly (1998 – 2002)and Deputy Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (2012).
Early Life and Education
Janos Áder was born on 9 May 1959 in Hungary. He grew up in Csorna and went to a local school. Having completed high school education, Áder joined Eötvös Loránd University for an undergraduate degree in law. After finishing up law education, he was involved in Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ Sociological Research institute as a research fellow.
Personal Life
Áder is married to wife Anita Herczegh since a984. Anita, daughter of a former judge at the International Court of Justice, is a renowned Hungarian lawyer and judge. The Áder couple has four children – one son and three daughters.
Career
Áder started his political career as a member of Fidesz. In 1989, he was involved in negotiating the end of a single-party system in Hungary. The following year, he led the party’s election campaign and got elected to the Hungarian Parliament. Áder remained in the parliament until 2009. In 1998, he was elected as Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly and formally assumed the office on 18 June. He successfully completed his four-year tenure on 15 May 2002. While at the National Assembly, Áder was particularly shouldered with the duties of furthering NATO initiatives.
After leaving the post of Speaker in 2002, Áder was appointed to the next four-year term as a leader at his own party. Soon after terminating the tenure, he prepared to run for a seat in the European Parliament. In 2009, Áder was successfully appointed as a member of the European Parliament. As he assumed the office, he had to leave the Hungarian Parliament and break a 19-year milestone. While at the office, Áder was crucial in drafting national legislations regarding Hungarian electoral laws and judicial independence.
As the 2012 presidential elections approached, Áder campaigned alongside his party members. On 16 April 2012, he was successfully elected to the post of President as a successor of Pal Schmitt. Áder reportedly won the elections with 262 out of 302 votes and assumed the office on 10 May 2012. Two months later, he visited Israel to meet Shimon Peres and talk about technological and diplomatic cooperation between the two nations. During the visit, he also formally invited the Israeli President for a visit to Hungary.
In 2012, Áder attended the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly where he tried to attract other nations in the world to invest or visit Hungary. Moreover, he also briefed the way Hungary’s new politics was benefitting its citizens. Similarly, Áder always put his people first – he appealed for amendments of 15 laws which were supposedly disadvantageous to the Hungarian citizens. Also, he was quite articulate and self-motivated when he apologized to the Serbians for their loss during World War II.
Looking at Hungary’s economic statistics, the country has done quite well alongside Áder administration. The unemployment rate and inflation rate seem desirable at 4.4% and 2.3% respectively. However, the GDP growth rate has gone down slightly and the Government Debt to GDP ratio is down by a percentage.
Trump and Áder
US President Donald Trump and Hungarian President Áder haven’t yet confronted each other – neither on political issues nor on a face-to-face conversation. However, President Áder was excited when he officially posted a congratulation note on the government website. The message quoted that Trump victory was a starter for change – both domestic and international.
