László Kövér
László Kövér | |
---|---|
Speaker of the National Assembly | |
Assumed office 6 August 2010 | |
Preceded by | Pál Schmitt |
Acting President of Hungary | |
In office 26 February 2024 – 4 March 2024 | |
Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán |
Preceded by | Katalin Novák |
Succeeded by | Tamás Sulyok |
In office 2 April 2012 – 9 May 2012 | |
Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán |
Preceded by | Pál Schmitt |
Succeeded by | János Áder |
Minister of Civilian Intelligence Services | |
In office 8 July 1998 – 2 May 2000 | |
Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán |
Preceded by | István Nikolits |
Succeeded by | Ervin Demeter |
Member of the National Assembly | |
Assumed office 2 May 1990 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Pápa, Hungary | 29 December 1959
Political party | Fidesz (1988–present) |
Spouse |
Mária Bekk (m. 1987) |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Eötvös Loránd University |
László Kövér (Hungarian: [ˈlaːsloː ˈkøveːr]; born 29 December 1959) is a Hungarian politician who is the current speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary. He was previously the acting president of Hungary from 2 April to 10 May 2012, after the resignation of Pál Schmitt; and again from 26 February to 5 March 2024, following the National Assembly's approval of the resignation of Katalin Novák.
A founding member of Fidesz since 1988, he served as Minister without portfolio for Civilian Intelligence Services during the first Viktor Orbán administration. He was appointed leader of the party in 2000, but resigned from his position the following year.
Career
László Kövér was born in the town of Pápa and is a founding member of the Fidesz party. it is reported that even as late as the 1990s, he declared that he was a socialist and argued for the adjective “socialist” to be included in their student organization's (which later became Fidesz) name, which was eventually voted down by the majority, which included Viktor Orbán.[1] He was an active participant in the Opposition Round Table discussions – a notable stage in the Hungarian transition – as well as of the tripartite political negotiations in 1989. A Member of Parliament since 1990, he is now the chairman of the Board of Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Union. He used to lead his political group in the National Assembly, and had chaired the Committee on National Security for two terms. He was minister without portfolio in charge of the Civil National Security Services during the first Orbán Cabinet. Shortly thereafter, he was elected as the President of Fidesz, a position he held until 5 May 2001.
In the 1996 to 2009 period, he was a member of the Board of the Hungarian Association for Civic Cooperation. A member of the Board of the Hungarian Association of International Children's Safety Service since 1990, he has been its president since 1994.
He was elected
Kövér has become acting president twice-following the resignation of Schmitt as president on 2 April 2012, Kövér became acting president of the Republic according to the Constitution of Hungary.[2] The National Assembly has 30 days to elect a new president.[3] One of the five deputy speakers of the parliament, Sándor Lezsák was commissioned to exercise the Speaker's rights and responsibilities.[4] On 10 February 2024, Katalin Novák resigned due to scandal, prompting him to take this office once more.
Kövér was re-elected as speaker of the parliament on 6 May 2014, on 8 May 2018, and also on 2 May 2022.
Personal life
His paternal grandfather was a carpenter and also a member of the
After the 2006 parliamentary election, when Fidesz lost the elections for the second time, Kövér swore that he would not cut his hair until the party was once again able to form a government. After four years, when his party won a two-thirds majority of seats by gaining 52% of the votes, Kövér appeared with short hair in the inaugural session of the sixth parliamentary term on 14 May 2010.[6] In January 2017, Kövér cut his iconic mustache, which became his trademark throughout his political career.[7]
Controversial views, statements
According to Czech newspaper
In September 2013, László Kövér said in a radio interview that in the long run he could image parliament should give more executive and legislative power to the cabinet in order to more effective treatment on "everyday challenges and enforce decisions through decrees, without the need to enact even the most detailed rules."
In December 2015 he caused a furor with his conservative views on gender roles. His words "we would like it if our daughters believed the highest level of self-actualization is to give us grandchildren" caused a media storm and spawned memes on the internet.[12]
In September 2019, during a summit devoted to Europe's demographic challenges, he suggested that childless people are "not normal" and stated that “having children is a public matter, not a private one”.[13]
In April 2021, he claimed in an interview that “the Hungarian leftwing liberal opposition is part of a globalist, anti-national network” and that its representatives are “no different from Mátyás Rákosi or Ernő Gerő”. In November it was reported by the Hungarian investigative journalism outlet Direkt36 reported that Kövér had delivered a speech (which had been secretly recorded) when meeting Hungarian civil intelligence services at their private 30th anniversary event in February 2020, in which he claimed that the current opposition parties are "the greatest national security threat to the country", adding that “the other part of the political class is acting in the spirit of the political tradition of abandoning the state and of self-disparaging as a nation”, likening them to the Communists led by Béla Kun in 1919 and claiming that they are involved in a 'class war'.[14]
Nyírő's reburial
Kövér, in his answer letter to Wiesel stated, the
Homophobic comments
In a speech at the
Kövér's words also received condemnation from the political scientist Zoltán Lakner and by the German ambassador in Hungary.[25]
References
- ^ a b Balogh, Eva S. (2 May 2020). "Remembering the Viktor Orbán and László Kövér of 30 years ago". Hungarian Spectrum. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ^ "Hivatalos: elfogadták Schmitt lemondását". Heti Világgazdaság. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "Kövér László 38 államfői napja?". Népszava. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "Lezsák Sándor helyettesíti Kövér Lászlót". Heti Világgazdaság. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- National Assembly of Hungary. 20 December 1996. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ "Interesting developments in Fidesz". Hungarian Spectrum. 1 July 2010. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ "Eltűnt Kövér László bajsza". 444.hu. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Ehl, Martin (5 June 2011). "President of the Hungarian Parliament: Every Slovak politician is a bit like Slota". iHned.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "House Speaker calls for more executive power for gov't". Politics.hu. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ "Circumstantial legislation unnecessary, says house speaker". Politics.hu. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ "Socialist, E14-PM heads demand House Speaker quit over call for gov't to rule by decree". Politics.hu. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ "Kövér kiverte a biztosítékot". nepszava.hu. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "Hungary chides the childless as 'not normal' as birth rate tops agenda". ft.com. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ András, Pethő (27 November 2021). "Orbán's ally told Hungarian intelligence services that opposition is the greatest national security threat, leaked recording reveals". Direkt36. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Politics and literature". Hungarian Literature Online (HLO). 24 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- ^ "Orbán snubbed by Romanian PM as Nyirő affair escalates". politics.hu. 4 June 2012. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ a b c "Hungary Rehabilitates Far Right Figures". Internet Centre Anti Racism Europe (ICARE). 6 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ "Wiesel raps Hungary's Nazi past 'whitewash'". The Jerusalem Post. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Kövér válaszlevele Elie Wieselnek: 'Nyirő nem volt fasiszta'". Népszabadság. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ Rachel Hirshfeld (24 June 2012). "US Lawmakers Call on Hungarian PM to Denounce Anti-Semitism". Israel National News. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ Gil Ronen (24 June 2012). "Rivlin Disinvites Hungarian Counterpart". Israel National News. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ^ Szabolcs, Dull (15 May 2019). "Kövér: A normális homoszexuális nem tartja magát egyenrangúnak". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ Balogh, Eva S. (19 September 2019). "László Kövér, the soothsayer and Christian crusader". Hungarian Spectrum. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Coca-Cola ads promoting gay tolerance stir furor in Hungary". Reuters. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Ungheria, il presidente del Parlamento paragona l'adozione omosessuale alla pedofilia". www.msn.com. Retrieved 24 October 2019.