Zoltán Balog (politician)

Zoltán Balog (born 7 January 1958)[1] is a Hungarian Calvinist pastor and politician, who served as Minister of Human Resources from 2012 to 2018.

Zoltán Balog MP
Minister of Human Resources
In office 14 May 2012 – 18 May 2018
Prime Minister	Viktor Orbán
Preceded by	Miklós Réthelyi (National Resources)
Succeeded by	Miklós Kásler
Member of the National Assembly
In office 16 May 2006 – 17 October 2018
Personal details
Born	(1958-01-07) 7 January 1958 Ózd, Hungary
Political party	Fidesz
Spouse(s)	Judit Révész
Children	Anna Veronika Eleonóra Réka Ádám
Profession	Calvinist pastor

The native form of this personal name is Balog Zoltán. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Studies and pastoral activity

Zoltán Balog was born in Ózd on 7 January 1958. He was a volunteer in the post-WW2 renovation works of church buildings in Wittenberg, Goppeln and Dresden. He was an extramural student of Protestant theology at the Humboldt University in East Berlin in 1980. He finished his secondary studies at the Calvinist College of Debrecen in 1976. He worked as mechanical worker and turner for the Diósgyőr Machine Factory (DIGÉP) between 1976 and 1977. He was a caretaker at the Catholic Social Home of Hosszúhetény from 1979 to 1980. He started his theology studies at the Debrecen Reformed Theological University. He spent four semesters at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg from 1981 to 1983. He graduated as a Calvinist pastor in the Budapest Reformed Theological Academy in 1983.[1]

He served as a pastor in Maglód and five surrounding villages between 1983 and 1987. Thereafter he spent two years as a postgraduate student in the University of Tübingen. He worked as a consultant for the Conference of European Churches (CEC). He was a pastor for East German refugees in Csillebérc pioneering camp in September 1989. He was a lecturer at the Budapest Reformed Theological University between 1989 and 1991. He taught divinity at the Deutsche Schule Budapest from 1991 to 1996 and the Baár–Madas Calvinist College from 1992 to 1993. He was a scientific associate for the Ecumenical Institute of the University of Bonn between 1993 and 1996. He was elected pastor of the German-speaking Protestant Congregation in Budapest in 1996, holding the position until 2006. He is a curator of the fund of the Bethesda Children Hospital since 2000.[1]

Political career

He is a member of the National Assembly (MP) since 2006.[2] He functioned as chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Minority, Civic and Religious Affairs between 2006 and 2010.[2]

Between 2 June 2010 and 13 May 2012, he was State Secretary for Social Inclusion within the Ministry of National Resources. On 3 May 2012 Minister of National Resources Miklós Réthelyi resigned from his office. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán appointed Balog as the successor to Réthelyi. The office was also renamed to Ministry of Human Resources.[2] During his ministership, the Klebelsberg Institution Maintenance Centre (KLIK) was established on 1 September 2012,[3] which became the central state agency for managing schools and marked centralised education system.

Months before the 2017 presidential election, in December 2016, the opposition ATV channel claimed that Balog had been selected by Orbán and the Fidesz party leadership as successor to János Áder as President of Hungary. Balog refused to comment on press reports.[4] In contrast to ATV, Fidesz-backed Origo.hu reported three days later that Áder would remain as President despite such "serious candidates" as Balog and Barnabás Lenkovics, a former President of the Constitutional Court. The news portal added that re-election was a decision only for Áder, who had asked for time to consider his candidature.[5] ATV also referred to the government's dilemma: was it appropriate to elect a Calvinist President (Balog), with the incumbent Prime Minister (Viktor Orbán) and House Speaker (László Kövér) also belonging to that ecclesiastical community, despite Hungary's Catholic majority? Index.hu journalist Szabolcs Dull quoted views and opinions from the ruling party, which told, in addition to Balog's Calvinist religion, which indeed appeared to be a strong argument against his nomination in the eyes of the Prime Minister, who sought good relations with the Catholic Church in Hungary; removing Balog from his current position as Minister of Human Resources would have caused major problems in the ministry and the entire government structure, in contrast to an expected political benefit if Fidesz elected Balog president. Dull argued that Áder had in the event not caused "big trouble" during his first term, and so his re-election "did not represent a significant political risk" to Orbán.[6] On 5 January 2017, left-wing liberal portal 444.hu reported that several members of the Fidesz presidency, primarily László Kövér and Gergely Gulyás, had succeeded in convincing Orbán at the Dobogókő meeting to choose Áder rather than Balog.[7]

On 23 April 2018, Balog announced, he will step down as Minister of Human Resources, disagreeing with the prime minister over structural considerations, who intended to keep the type of superministry system. Balog was appointed managing director of the Fidesz's Foundation for Civic Hungary.[8] Balog also resigned from his parliamentary seat on 12 September 2018, with the effect date of 17 October 2018. Retiring from daily politics, he continued his career as a Calvinist pastor. He was replaced by Gyula Budai.[9]

Personal life

He is married. His second wife is Judit Révész. They have five children - four daughters, Anna, Veronika, Eleonóra and Réka and a son, Ádám.[10]

References

1. "Biography" (PDF). Országgyűlés.
2. "Register". Országgyűlés.
3. KLIK alapító okirat Archived July 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
4. Csuhaj, Ildikó (8 December 2016). "Áder távozni készül, Balog Zoltán költözhet a Várba". ATV. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
5. "Áder János maradhat a köztársasági elnök". Origo.hu. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
6. Dull, Szabolcs (22 December 2016). "Miért engedi mégis Viktor, hogy Áder maradjon?". Index.hu. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
7. Rényi, Pál Dániel (5 January 2017). "Áder már csomagolni készült, de Kövér útját állta Balog elnökségének". 444.hu. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
8. "Balog Zoltán távozik az Emmi éléről". Index.hu. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
9. "Balog Zoltán lemond mandátumáról". Index.hu. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
10. BALOG ZOLTÁN - FIDESZ - 2015-ÖS VAGYONNYILATKOZAT - January 30, 2016

Political offices
Preceded by Miklós Réthelyi	Minister of Human Resources 2012–2018	Succeeded by Miklós Kásler