Hungary’s Tisza Party names Anita Orbán as foreign minister pick

The leader of the Tisza Party, which won Hungary’s parliamentary elections, Péter Magyar, has appointed Anita Orbán as the country’s new foreign minister.

“The Tisza Party proposes Anita Orbán for the position of foreign minister,” Magyar said at a press conference following a meeting of the party’s parliamentary faction in the future National Assembly, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Orbán currently serves as the party’s foreign policy adviser. She previously worked at the Foreign Ministry from 2010 to 2015, where she focused on energy security issues. Fifteen years ago, she was also a member of the ruling Fidesz party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, belonging to its Euro-Atlantic wing. During her tenure at the ministry, she worked on reducing Hungary’s dependence on Russian oil and gas. She is expected to continue similar policies in her new role, succeeding Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.

Magyar also announced that decisions have already been made on several key posts in the future government.

András Kármán will become finance minister, István Kapitány will be the economy minister, and Zsolt Hegedus will serve as health minister. Ruszin-Szendi Romulusz will take over the defence ministry, László Hajós will be responsible for the environment, and Bóna Szabolcs will lead the agriculture and food economy ministry.

Magyar also said that several ministries will be restructured. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade will be renamed simply the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while foreign economic and trade responsibilities will be transferred to the Ministry of Economy and Energy. Unlike under Orbán’s government, there will be no separate energy ministry in Magyar’s cabinet.

By Vafa Guliyeva