Gyurcsany, Ferenc

He studied as a teacher, then received an economic education at the University of Janus Pannonius (Janus Pannonius University, the city of Pecs ).

He began his political career at the Association of Young Socialists, and in 1990 he moved from politics to business, founded a number of companies, the largest of which is Altus, and took 50th place in the ranking of the richest people in Hungary.

In 2002, he returned to politics as chief strategic adviser to Peter Medieshi, the previous prime minister of Hungary. Then in 2003 he became Minister for Sports, Children and Youth.

Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Hungary since September 29, 2004 .

A few months before this, Hungary joined the European Union . The economic situation in the country was already tense, which was associated with a significant increase in the state budget deficit.

In the program of the new government, emphasis was placed on strengthening the principle of distribution of public funds, creating equal opportunities for all social groups. The new government also intended to intensify Hungary’s participation in the EU and by 2008 fulfill all the requirements of the European Union related to the transition to the euro . This required a number of unpopular measures and austerity of the state budget.

At the beginning of 2005, Gyurcsany signed a new Hungarian-Russian trade agreement in Moscow, prepared due to the fact that Hungary, after joining the EU, was forced to break most of its previous international agreements. Gyurcsany said during negotiations that he considers returning to the eastern markets one of the government’s priority areas.

Already in 2005, Russian-Hungarian trade grew more than one and a half times, reaching a record level of $ 6 billion. In January - August 2006, growth amounted to another 3.6 billion dollars.

In February 2006, during his visit to Budapest, Vladimir Putin proposed that Hungary become one of the main European centers for the distribution of Russian gas and invest in the creation of gas storage facilities on its territory.

In the April 2006 general election in Hungary, the Hungarian Socialist Party of Gyurcsany received 49% of the seats. In Russia, the victory of the VSP was regarded as evidence of the success of Gyurcsany’s policy and the guarantee of its continuation.

On September 18, 2006, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ferenc Gyurcsany met with him at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi, where the Russian president said: “Russia appreciates the balanced and pragmatic approach of the current Hungarian leadership. And this pragmatism, in our opinion, lies in the fact that, with the country's membership in NATO and the European Union, Hungary seeks and finds opportunities to develop ways of cooperation with other countries, including our country, that are in line with its national interests. ”

Literally a few hours later, riots broke out in the Hungarian capital - protesters attacked state institutions, set fire to cars, attacked the police, accusing the prime minister of the fact that, as it became known from leaks in the media, he lied to voters, embellishing the economic situation in the country .

On the very first day of the street unrest, Gyurcsany declared: “I remain and will do my job. I am serious about implementing my program ... I understand all the criticism addressed to me, but I need to distinguish healthy criticism ... from simple vandalism. If two or three thousand people don’t understand what can and cannot be done, this is not a reason to upset peace and tranquility in the country. ”

Anti-government protests lasted two weeks.

On October 1, 2006, local elections were held in Hungary, in which the ruling party coalition suffered a crushing defeat. The right-wing opposition, led by the Fides party, won a majority in the regional assemblies of at least 18 of the 19 districts and mayor posts in at least 19 of the 23 largest cities in the country.

On the same day, Hungarian President Laszlo Shoyom called on Gyurcsany to dismiss the government. Shoyom criticized the prime minister for using “inappropriate political struggle methods that undermine confidence in Hungarian democracy” and the “moral crisis” that the country plunged through his fault. The President called on MPs to pass a vote of no confidence to the government.

The coalition partners - socialists and free democrats, who have a reliable majority in parliament, rejected the intervention of the president, who, according to the constitution, performs only ceremonial functions. And Ferenc Gyurcsany reiterated that he would not resign and would continue reforms envisaging tight budget savings.

The president’s speech led to the resumption of protests in the capital. Already on the night of October 2, tens of thousands of Budapest residents again went to the parliament building, calling for the resignation of the government. Repercussions were observed during October, and the following spring, that is, on the anniversaries of the events of 1956 and the Hungarian revolution of 1848, however, since the summer of 2007, cabinet positions have noticeably strengthened.

March 21, 2009 Gyurcsany announced his resignation as prime minister. Gordon Bainaii was elected his successor at the party meeting held on April 5, 2009.

Two sons from the second marriage.

He is in his third marriage with Klara Dobrev (b. 1972), the granddaughter of Antal Apro , the couple has a daughter and two sons.

• Riots in Budapest (2006)