Meet Tamás Sulyok, Fidesz’ Candidate for Head of State
Tamás Sulyok, the current president of the Constitutional Court, has been nominated for head of state. He was born on March 24, 1956 in Kiskunfélegyháza. Sulyok graduated from the Faculty of Public Sciences and Law of the József Attila University of Szeged in 1980. Additionally, he obtained a qualification in European law from Budapest’s ELTE university in 2004 and achieved a PhD from Szeged university in 2013, with his thesis focusing on the constitutional status of the legal profession, the regulation of the internal market of the European Community, and the connections between legal services.
Sulyok headed a private legal practice from 1997 to 2014, and served as the honorary consul of Austria in Szeged from 2000 until his election as a constitutional judge in 2014. Since September 2005, he has been teaching constitutional law as a visiting lecturer at Szeged university. He was appointed as the deputy president of the Constitutional Court in April 2015, and later became its president in November 2016.
The ruling parties have decided to nominate Sulyok for president of the republic. Máté Kocsis, the Fidesz group leader, announced the decision at a parliamentary group meeting in Balatonalmádi, where the ruling Fidesz and Christian Democratic parties held a meeting. MPs will decide on accepting the resignation of the outgoing head of state, Katalin Novák, and Kocsis stated that it would be preferable to appoint Sulyok as soon as possible.
In addition, new members of the top court will be elected, and Tamás Deutsch is set to lead the Fidesz party’s list in the European parliamentary elections. Kocsis also addressed the issue of child protection, mentioning that a second child protection law package will be debated in the spring session, with proposals including tightening penalties for crimes against children.
However, Kocsis criticized the left wing for what he called “public violence, bullying, and lies,” and called out specific opposition figures to quit public life. Additionally, he addressed the topic of Sweden’s NATO accession and commented on the recent presidential pardon that led to Katalin Novák’s resignation.
The nomination of Tamás Sulyok for head of state and the various political matters discussed at the parliamentary group meeting in Balatonalmádi demonstrate the current state of Hungarian politics and the key issues on the national agenda.
