Hungary’s parliament on Monday elected Tamas Sulok, head of the Constitutional Court, as the next president in a largely ceremonial role to replace Katalin Novak, who resigned unexpectedly earlier this month, Reuters reported.

Sulok is expected to take office on March 5.

“The ruling parties have accepted, in accordance with the statute, the proposal of the President of Fidesz, therefore we propose Dr. Tamas Sulok, President of the Constitutional Court, for the position of President of the Republic. We believe that the head of the Constitutional Court is the most suitable candidate for this position, which is why we have expressed our confidence in him,” said Mate Kocish, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, on February 22, Hirado reports.

It will be recalled that on February 10, Katalin Novak resigned due to the decision to pardon a man convicted for his involvement in concealing the case of sexual violence against children by the director of an orphanage.

Zoltan Balog, leader of the Hungarian Reformed Church, former minister, adviser to Novak, played an important role in the pardon case, several independent sources close to the government and the head of state’s office told Direkt36 and Telex.

A source close to the Hungarian president said that when the pardon scandal broke out, Novak’s colleagues and even Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s team asked Balog for an explanation. The bishop defended himself, saying that it was not his personal decision, but some people in the church leadership wanted the man to be pardoned.

Endre Konya, the man accused of pedophilia and whose pardon of Katalin Novak caused a scandal in Hungary and led to Novak’s resignation, comes from Covasna county. His father was a physical education teacher in the city of Zebala, where there is now a sports hall named after him, Slidstva journalists write.

Hungary’s first female president has resigned after less than two years in office

In March 2022, she became the first woman to hold this ceremonial post in Hungary.

In 2014-2020, Novak was the state secretary of the Ministry of Family and Youth Affairs, and in 2020-2021, the minister without portfolio of the same ministry. From 2017 to 2021, she was one of the vice-presidents of the Fidesz party, and from 2018 – a member of parliament.

She studied economics, law and public administration in Hungary and France, lived in the USA, France and Germany and speaks English, French, German and Spanish.

Who is Tamash Sulok?

Tamas Sulok was born on March 24, 1956. In 1980, he received a law degree, from 1982 to 1991 he was a legal consultant, and from 1991 – a lawyer until he was elected a constitutional judge. From 2000 to 2014, he was the honorary consul of Austria. Since September 2005, he has been teaching constitutional law as a guest lecturer. In 2013, he defended his doctoral degree, the topic of his research is the constitutional position of the legal profession.

The Parliament elected him a member of the Constitutional Court in September 2014. Since April 1, 2015, he has been the vice-president of the board of directors, and since April 22, 2016, he has been acting as the president.