Ferenc Mádl was a historical character, a scholar who was found by history, said János Martonyi, Professor Emeritus, former Foreign Minister, member of the board of directors at the Friends of Hungary Foundation (the publisher of our news portal), at a conference in memory of the late Hungarian president.
In his speech, János Martonyi stated that Ferenc Mádl was one of the most prominent ministers of culture, alongside József Eötvös and Kunó Klebelsberg, and was an esteemed head of state.
During his decades-long professorship, Ferenc Mádl preserved and further developed the science of law and legal culture, and elevated it above the conditions of existing socialism. He cultivated the law of international economic relations and European law at a high level, and believed that Hungary’s place was in Europe. It was important for him to bring Hungary back into Europe.
János Martonyi. Photo: kormany.hu
Péter Paczolay, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and former President of the Constitutional Court, said that Ferenc Mádl’s commitment to constitutionalism and the rule of law was unquestionable. As a head of state, he had appealed to the Constitutional Court 13 times for a preliminary review of the rules, and the Court had justified him in every case.
When many people talked about Europe being in crisis, Ferenc Mádl said: ‘Europe exists from crisis to crisis and emerges stronger from every one of them’, remembered the former President.
László Trócsányi MEP, university professor, Rector of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, stressed that
Ferenc Mádl was a citizen in the noble sense of the word”, a role model, he wanted to build a civic Hungary.
At the event, Enikő Győri, Fidesz MEP and President of the Hungarian Civic Cooperation Association, stressed that Ferenc Mádl was a purist, good-hearted man of incredible knowledge and a true scholar.
He was characterized by humility, wisdom, respect and a desire for harmony.
He respected the common European cultural heritage. She also pointed out that, in the spirit of European tradition, he believed that the common good and a fair state were based on respect for the law and the constitution, based on public consensus, and on a community of virtuous, morally stable people and citizens.
The conference was organized on the occasion of Ferenc Mádl’s birthday by the Hungarian Lawyers Association, the Association for Hungarian Civic Cooperation and the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law at the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church.
After the fall of communism in 1989, he served in the Antall-government as Minister for European Affairs and Minister without Portfolio for Science Policy, and later as Minister of Culture and Education. He was President of the Association for Hungarian Civic Cooperation from 1996 to 2000 and Head of the State from 2000 to 2005. Ferenc Mádl passed away in 2011.
Via MTI; Featured Image: Wikipedia