Mr. Martonyi remembered the former head of state at a conference organized on the occasion of Ferenc Mádl's birthday.Continue reading
On April 5, János Martonyi, former Foreign Minister of Hungary and member of the Board of Trustees of the Friends of Hungary Foundation (the publisher of this site and Ungarn Heute), celebrates his 80th birthday.
On the occasion of the anniversary, the Otto von Habsburg Foundation and the John Lukacs Institute of the National University of Public Service organized a conference in Mr. Martonyi’s honor, where Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, delivered a speech.
Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás. Photo: MTI / Szigetváry Zsolt
In his laudation, Minister Gulyás stated that
János Martonyi has had an extremely rich career, during which he has repeatedly highlighted the importance of dual identity.
He added that the essence of the former foreign minister’s political life enriches us all, and his knowledge and experience will be needed in the future.
He stressed that during Martonyi’s time as foreign minister, “respect for the law was beyond question.” He said that Martonyi belonged to a generation for whom law was not yet a “tool for political will-building,” but a set of values to which politics should pay attention.
In the closing words of his speech, Martonyi said that
belonging to a national community was “the most important dimension of our lives, which is perfectly compatible with European thinking.”
János Martonyi. Photo: MTI / Szigetváry Zsolt
“Let’s keep working, let’s stay together in this community and in other communities,” he noted, and thanked the organizers and speakers of the event and those who had praised him. The former foreign minister added that “I agree with most of the ideas expressed,” and said that “this occasion is first and foremost an occasion to express his gratitude.”
Via MTI; Featured Image: kormany.hu