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Árpád Göncz (born February 10, 1922 in Budapest) is a Hungarian liberal politician and former President of The Republic (May 2, 1990–August 4, 2000). He graduated in law from the Budapest Pázmány Péter University of Arts and Sciences in 1944. He has also worked as a writer and has published several novels, plays and essays, as well as translated from English to Hungarian such works as J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano.
He joined the Independent Smallholders' Party in 1945 and was the leader of the party's youth organization for Budapest as well as secretary to the general secretary. He was a founding member of the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) in 1988. In 1989 became President of the Hungarian League for Human Rights. From 1989 to 1990 he was President and later Honorary President of the Hungarian Writers' Association (http://www.iroszovetseg.hu/html/writers.html). In May 1990 he was elected Member of Parliament, and served as speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary and subsequently was elected provisional President of the Republic after Mátyás Szűrös on May 2 and President of the Republic on August 4 by the National Assembly. He was reelected in 1995 for another five-year term which he completed on August 4, 2000.
External links
- Official Presidential site of Hungary (http://www.keh.hu/index2.php?fm=3&am=3&l=e&hir=10)
| Preceded by: Mátyás Szűrös | List of Presidents of Hungary | Succeeded by: Ferenc Mádl |