Minister of Human Resources, Zoltán Balog, introduced his Ministry’s new Ministers of State on 10 June.
They are the following: Deputy Minister and Parliamentary State Secretary Bence Rétvári, and Ministers of State Györgyi Lengyel (administrative affairs), Judit Czunyiné Bertalan (public education), István Simicskó (sports), Miklós Soltész (church affairs), Péter Hoppál (culture) Katalin Novákné Veres (youth and family affairs) Károly Czibere (social affairs and inclusion) and Gábor Zombor (health).
The candidate for Minister of State for higher education would be introduced within the next few weeks, Mr. Balog said, adding that his new colleague would be arriving from one of the most successful and well-known international technology companies and that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is personally conducting the related negotiations. Mr. Balog also said that EU-funded development projects would also be overseen by a separate State Secretariat in future, and while the search for the ideal candidate is ongoing, the position will temporarily be filled by Deputy State Secretary Tamás Köpeczi-Bócz.
The Minister also said that the past four years have confirmed that the Ministry could function well in its present form, adding that the Ministry’s Christian-Democratic nature is of particular importance to him and the areas under the Ministry’s supervision are well-suited to enable value-based governance.
The candidates also introduced themselves after the Minister had given a short overview of what he expected from his new colleagues.
Bence Rétvári said he would focus work on families, because by helping families the state assures the long-term survival of the nation. Györgyi Lengyel – reaffirmed in her position after the elections – said her area of responsibility is the “nerve centre” of the Ministry and she will continue to make sure that the Ministry functions as single unit. Gábor Zombor considers his biggest challenge to be finding the right balance between the explosive development of medical technology and the sector’s limited resources. Judit Czunyiné Bertalan believes that the framework of public education has found a proper definition in the past few years and her work will be delineated accordingly. Károly Czibere will focus on improving basic home care services and completing the work of developing career path blueprints for social employees. Péter Hoppál said Hungarian “high culture” must be made more accessible both in Hungary and abroad and the Government must cooperate with major cultural institutions to achieve this goal. Miklós Soltész said that the relationship with Hungary’s nationalities – an area under his supervision – also has an impact on how neighbouring countries treat their Hungarian minorities. Katalin Novákné Veres said her priority will be to reverse the country’s unfavourable demographic trends, thereby assuring a better distribution of public burdens. István Simicskó said the Government considers sports a strategic area with the task of “raising a healthy nation”.
The Government announced a few days ago that a few Ministries will be relocated in regional cities, and journalists asked Minister Balog whether there are any plans to also move his Ministry. The Minister said he was not aware that such plans existed.
(Ministry of Human Resources)
