Former Foreign Minister János Martonyi Celebrates His 80th Birthday

MTI-Hungary Today 2024.04.05.

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.”

Fact

János Martonyi was born on April 5, 1944, in Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár, Romania). He graduated summa cum laude in law from the University of Szeged in 1967, and the following year studied international trade law at City of London College. From 1985, he held several positions related to foreign trade, and after the fall of communism in 1989, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the State Property Agency. In 1998, he was invited by Viktor Orbán to become foreign minister and served one more term as Chief Diplomat from 2010 to 2014. During his tenure, Hungary joined NATO in March 1999, and EU accession negotiations made significant progress. He has received several national and international honors and awards.

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Via MTI; Featured Image: kormany.hu