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János Lázár
Minister of Construction and Investment
Assumed office
24 May 2022
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Preceded byOffice established
Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office
In office
6 June 2014 – 17 May 2018
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Preceded byhimself
as Secretary of State
Succeeded by Gergely Gulyás
Secretary of State of the Prime Minister’s Office
In office
2 June 2012 – 6 June 2014
Preceded by Mihály Varga
Succeeded byhimself
as Minister
Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely
In office
20 October 2002 – 6 September 2012
Preceded by András Rapcsák
Succeeded by István Almási
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
15 May 2002
Personal details
Born (1975-02-19) 19 February 1975 (age 49)
Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
Political party Fidesz
SpouseDr Zita Lázárné Megyeri
ChildrenJános Boldizsár
Zsigmond Bertalan
Alma mater József Attila University of Sciences
Signature

János Lázár (born 19 February 1975) is a Hungarian politician and Member of Parliament. He was former leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group (2010–2012) and State Secretary, then Minister of Prime Minister's Office (2012–2018) in the cabinets of Viktor Orbán. In this capacity, he was regarded as de facto the second most powerful member of the cabinet, but lost political influence by 2018. He also served as Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely from 2002 to 2012.

Career

He started his career as a law apprentice at city council of Hódmezővásárhely at 1995. He was personal secretary at the Hungarian Parliament at 1999. He joined Fidesz in 2000. He became both a Parliament representative and mayor of Hódmezővásárhely at 2002, following the death of his mentor András Rapcsák. [1] In 2002, he became a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) too.

He became leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group after the 2010 election, succeeding Tibor Navracsics in this position.

Lázár was appointed Secretary of State of Prime Minister's Office on 2 June 2012, as a result he resigned from the office of mayor of Hódmezővásárhely. He was replaced by Antal Rogán as head of the Fidesz parliamentary group on that day. Lázár was elected one of the four vice-presidents of Fidesz in September 2013, replacing Mihály Varga. He held that party office until December 2015. [2] Lázár was promoted to Minister of the Prime Minister's Office following the 2014 parliamentary election an held this office until 2018. On 27 July 2020 he was elected President of the Hungarian Tennis Association. [3]

Controversy

On 18 November 2010 János Lázár criticized strongly the former President of the Constitutional Court of Hungary, László Sólyom in an interview published in Népszabadság. [4]

In March 2011 In the recording posted on the Internet, Lázár as mayor of Hódmezővásárhely could be heard telling the city council in 2008 that "those people who have nothing are worth just that". Addressing a press conference, Lázár said, '"I would like to apologise to Hungary for my ambiguous and misunderstood statement. I would like to apologise to all who feel hurt by that".

He said that his remark had not referred to the poor but to those who were unsuccessful in their profession but embarked on a political career merely with the purpose of making a livelihood and for financial gains. Lázár also said the remarks were parts of a longer speech and out of their original context. The three opposition parties slammed the senior Fidesz official for his remarks. [5] Lázár sued the journals, which had claimed that he used these words in connection with the poor. The verdict of the Court of the city of Eger found that Lázár was right, and the record was manipulated. [6]

On 12 May 2014, Hungarian news website Origo published an article about his travels on the Hungarian government's budget, which led Lázár to pay back 2 million forints to the state budget. On 2 June, the lead editor of the website was fired, allegedly under pressure from Lázár, who denied being involved in the decision. [7]

Personal life

He is married. His wife is Dr Zita Lázárné Megyeri. They have two sons, János Boldizsár and Zsigmond Bertalan. [8]

References

  1. ^ "Biography of János Lázár". Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Fidesz-kongresszus - Varga Mihály lemondott az alelnökségről". Inforadio.hu. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Lázár János a teniszszövetség új elnöke" (in Hungarian). Heti Világgazdaság. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  4. ^ "János Lázár interviewed: The Constitution is the problem". Népszabadság. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Fidesz parliamentary leader apologises for "poverty remarks"". Politics.hu. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  6. ^ "The Court interpreted the words of Lázár". Népszava. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Fellibben a fátyol Lázár János titkos küldetéseiről". origo.hu. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  8. ^ - Lázár János vagyonnyilatkozata - 2003. február

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely
2002–2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of the Prime Minister's Office
2012–2018
Succeeded by
National Assembly of Hungary
Preceded by Leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group
2010–2012
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by President of the Hungarian Tennis Association
27 July 2020 –
Succeeded by
Incumbent