Zoltán KOVÁCS PhD

State Secretary for International Communication and Relations

International Spokesperson of the Government

Personal data:

Professional experience:

2013-2014: Minister of State for Social Inclusion
2010-2013: Minister of State for Government Communications and Public Relations
2006-2010: elected member of the local City Council, communications director to the Debrecen City Council
2004 to present: Senior Lecturer at the Institute of History, University of Debrecen
1999-2004: Assistant Lecturer, later Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, University of Miskolc
1995-2000: Lecturer at Kossuth Lajos University, Debrecen

Qualifications:

2002: PhD in History, Central European University, Budapest
2001: PhD in History, University of Debrecen
1997: Junior Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DC
October-December 1996: Research Fellow, University College, University of London
1996-1999: PhD Scholar, Central European University, Budapest
1994-1995: Soros/Foreign & Commonwealth Office Scholar, Queen’s College, University of Oxford
1993: MA in History, Central European University, Budapest
1988-1993: undergraduate studies in History and Geography at Kossuth Lajos University, Debrecen

International scholarships:

Liberty Fund Conferences and Grants (2005, 2006, 2007)
Civil Education Project (2001-2004)
Woodrow Wilson Center scholarship, Washington (1997)
Central European University scholarships (1992-1993, 1995-1999)
University of London scholarship (1996)
Soros/Foreign & Commonwealth Office scholarship, University of Oxford (1994-1995)

Language skills:

Other activities:

October-November 2008: Leader of the Hungarian delegation of the American Council of Young Political Leaders during the US elections
2006-2008: delegate to the Board of Trustees of the Hungarian Television Foundation
2006-2007: delegate to the Policy Committee of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions
2003-2010: founder and editor of the cultural-political monthly “Debreceni Disputa”
1997 to present: member of FIDESZ