László Sólyom
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- The native form of this personal name is Sólyom László. This article uses the Western name order.
| László Sólyom | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 5 August 2005 |
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| Prime Minister | Ferenc Gyurcsány Gordon Bajnai |
| Preceded by | Ferenc Mádl |
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| Born | 3 January 1942 Pécs, Hungary |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Erzsébet Sólyom |
László Sólyom (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈlaːsloː ˈʃoːjom] (
listen)) (born on January 3, 1942) the President of Hungary, a lawyer, librarian, former judge of and former president of the Constitutional Court of Hungary.
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[edit] Biography
He was born in the southern Hungarian city of Pécs. He graduated as a lawyer at the University of Pécs in 1965. He worked as a professor at universities and law institutes in Budapest: at the Eötvös Loránd University from 1983, at Péter Pázmány Catholic University from 1996, and at Andrássy Gyula German Language University of Budapest from 2002. He also worked in Jena, Germany for 3 years.
His political career began as legal advisor for civil and environmental organisations in the late 1980s. As a founder of Danube Circle, he also had a significant role in environmental protection issues like preventing the construction of the Gabčíkovo - Nagymaros Dams which, according to the Danube Circle, would have damaged the habitat of a northern part of the Danube. He was one of the founders of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) in 1987, and represented that party in the Opposition Roundtable negotiations that played a very important part in Hungary's transition to parliamentary democracy. In 1989, for a short time he was member of the executive committee of the MDF.
However, he left party politics in late 1989, as he was elected into the Constitutional Court of Hungary. He gained the presidency of the court half year later, and held that position until 1998. During this time, the Constitutional Court had a very important role in laying the groundwork for and strengthening democracy in Hungary. In this role, he significantly contributed to the removal of capital punishment, the protection of information rights, the freedom of opinion and of conscience, as well as the constitutional protection of domestic partnerships of homosexuals, which measures brought wide international acclaim for the Constitutional Court of Hungary.
He had a controversial principle of activism based on the invisible constitution, motivating the decisions of the Court by the 'spirit' or 'morals' of the Constitution rather than its explicitly written form, advocating the principle of equal human dignity even over the letters of the constitution.
After the end of his 9-year-long mandate, he continued his scholarly career, continued giving lectures in universities, and became founder of Védegylet, an environmentalist and civil rights non-governmental organisation in 2000. He became corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2001.
He is married, has two children and nine grandchildren.
[edit] Presidential election
He was nominated by the environmentalist civil organisation Védegylet, including notable public figures from both the left and the right wing. As the Constitution of Hungary specifies, the President is elected by the Parliament of Hungary, so he had to acquire the support of Parliamentary parties. The opposition parties, Fidesz and MDF, also endorsed him to become President of Hungary. However, if the governing parties had been united in support of the MSZP candidate, Katalin Szili, Sólyom would not have secured enough votes to take the Presidency; but because Szili was not acceptable to the SZDSZ, the smaller party in the governing coalition, they abstained from voting, and Sólyom's election was secured.
[edit] Controversies
As president-elect he promised not to visit the U.S, as long as it requires him to be fingerprinted at the border[1].
He refused to shake hands with János Fekete, former vice president of the Hungarian National Bank, while presenting the National Order of Merit of Hungary to him, after the Gyurcsány cabinet forced Fekete's award through[2].
In 2007, he refused to award a similar distinction to Gyula Horn. He referred to the fact that Horn had not changed his views on the 1956 revolution in which he had taken part on the Soviet side, fighting against the Hungarian revolutionaries. This fact is conflicting with the constitutional values of the Republic of Hungary, even though he said Horn was otherwise worthy of the award[3].
[edit] Denied of entry to Slovakia
In 2009, Sólyom was refused entry to Slovakia to attend the dedication of a statue of King Saint Stephen in the border town of Komárno on August 21[4]. The issue further worsened the tense Hungary–Slovakia relations. Sólyom said that "this is a situation unheard of, inexcusable and unexplainable in the relationship of two allied countries."[5] Slovakia's government containing the ultranationalist SNS party claimed that the Hungarian President's presence is a "threat to national security"[6]. The denial of entry of the Hungarian President was the first such event to have ever happened in the European Union.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "Nem akarok szeretett elnökünk lenni", Magyar Hirlap, August 5, 2005
- ^ Nem fogott kezet Sólyom és Fekete János, www.origo.hu
- ^ Sólyom László megtagadta Horn kitüntetését
- ^ Slovakia vs Hungary: Sólyom banned
- ^ Slovak-Hungarian Relations Worsen as Hungary's President Barred
- ^ "Hungary and Slovakia in war of words as president is barred". international news. Friday, August 21, 2009 - 21:21. http://www.france24.com/en/20090821-hungary-slovakia-war-words-president-barred. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
[edit] External links
- (English) The Office of the President of the Republic of Hungary
- (English) His biography at the above site
- (Hungarian) Biography on his campaign site
- (English), (Hungarian) Website of the civil organisation Védegylet, which nominated him
- (Hungarian) The campaign site made by Védegylet
- (Hungarian) His profile by Index
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ferenc Mádl |
President of Hungary 5 August 2005 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by office created |
President of the Constitutional Court 1990 – 1998 |
Succeeded by János Németh |
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