János Áder facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
János Áder
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Official portrait, 2012
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| 5th President of Hungary | |
| In office 10 May 2012 – 10 May 2022 |
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| Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán |
| Preceded by | Pál Schmitt |
| Succeeded by | Katalin Novák |
| President of Fidesz | |
| In office 3 July 2002 – 17 May 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Zoltán Pokorni |
| Succeeded by | Viktor Orbán |
| Speaker of the National Assembly | |
| In office 18 June 1998 – 14 May 2002 |
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| Preceded by | Zoltán Gál |
| Succeeded by | Katalin Szili |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 2 May 1990 – 13 July 2009 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 May 1959 Csorna, Hungary |
| Political party | Fidesz |
| Spouse | Anita Herczegh |
| Children | 4 |
| Residences | 3/a Béla király út, Hegyvidék, Budapest |
| Alma mater | Eötvös Loránd University |
János Áder (born 9 May 1959) is a Hungarian politician and lawyer. He served as the President of Hungary from 2012 to 2022. He is a long-time member of the Fidesz political party.
Mr. Áder was involved in important talks in 1989 that helped end the communist system in Hungary. He was a member of the Hungarian Parliament from 1990 to 2009. He also served as the Speaker of the Parliament from 1998 to 2002. Later, he was elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2009. He became President of Hungary after the previous president resigned. János Áder was the first Hungarian president to be re-elected for a second term since Árpád Göncz.
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Early Life and Education
János Áder was born in Csorna, a small town in Hungary. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family. His father was a shop assistant, and his mother was an accountant.
He studied law at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest for five years, starting in 1978. After finishing his studies, he worked as a researcher at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1986 to 1990.
Political Career Beginnings
In the late 1980s, János Áder joined the Fidesz party. At that time, Fidesz was a party that supported liberal democracy. He became a legal expert for the party.
He took part in the "Opposition Round Table" talks in 1989. These talks were important for ending the one-party rule in Hungary and moving towards democracy.
Áder started his national political journey during this time. He led Fidesz's election campaigns in 1990 and 1994. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1990 and served until 2009.
During his time in Parliament, Áder held several important leadership roles. He was the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from 1997 to 1998. Then, during the first government led by Viktor Orbán (1998-2002), he became the Speaker of the National Assembly. After the 2002 election, when Fidesz was no longer in power, Áder led the Fidesz group in Parliament.
Member of European Parliament
In 2009, Áder successfully ran as a candidate for the European Parliament. After being elected, he resigned from the Hungarian Parliament. In January 2012, he was chosen as a deputy chairman of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.
In 2011, after Fidesz won a large majority in the Hungarian elections, Áder helped create new laws for Hungary's justice system and elections.
President of Hungary
First Term as President
On 16 April 2012, the Hungarian Parliament chose János Áder to be the new President of Hungary. This happened after the previous president, Pál Schmitt, resigned. Áder was officially elected on 2 May 2012, and he took office on 10 May 2012. He was the first president to serve under Hungary's new constitution, which started on 1 January 2012.
As president, János Áder met with leaders from other countries. For example, he met with Israeli President Shimon Peres in July 2012. They talked about improving scientific cooperation between Hungary and Israel, especially in areas like farming and water management.
He also spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City in September 2012. He talked about Hungary's new constitution and its focus on protecting natural resources like farmland, forests, and drinking water. He stressed the importance of protecting these resources for future generations. Áder also highlighted Hungary's work with the UN's "Friends of Water" group.
In December 2012, Áder sent a new election law back to the Constitutional Court for review. He wanted to make sure it was fair and democratic. The Court later found that parts of the law limited voting rights too much.
In March 2013, Áder signed a new amendment to Hungary's constitution. He explained that it was his duty as president to sign laws passed by Parliament.
In June 2013, Áder apologized in the Serbian Parliament for war crimes committed by Hungarians against Serbian civilians during Second World War. He emphasized that Hungarians and Serbs today stand together with the innocent victims. He hoped that forgiveness and mutual apology could lead to reconciliation and a future of justice and cooperation.
Áder continued to focus on environmental protection. In January 2015, he created an Environmental Sustainability Directorate within the President's Office. He believed that protecting the environment should be a long-term goal, beyond any single government. He also spoke at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, where he talked about the serious threat of climate change to human civilization.
Unlike his predecessor, Áder sometimes challenged the government's decisions. For example, he refused to sign a new land law that would have changed how national parks were managed. He also used his veto power in March 2016 on a bill about public funds of the Hungarian National Bank.
Second Term as President
Despite some disagreements with the government, János Áder was nominated for a second term as president. He accepted the nomination in December 2016, calling his role a "constitutional service."
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Áder was re-elected for a second five-year term by the Hungarian Parliament on 13 March 2017. He became the second president in Hungary's post-communist history to serve two full terms. He took his presidential oath on 8 May 2017.
During his second term, Áder signed a controversial law affecting foreign universities, known as lex CEU. This law impacted the Central European University. Despite protests, Áder stated that the amendment did not seem to conflict with the constitution.
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In March 2020, Áder signed a law that gave the government special powers during the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that the authorization would be for a definite time and limited in scope.
In April 2021, President János Áder and his wife, Anita Herczeg, started a charity foundation. This foundation helps children who lost their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation was named after István Regőczi, a Catholic priest who cared for orphans during World War II.
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János Áder was not able to run for a third term as president due to term limits. He was succeeded by Katalin Novák in 2022.
Family Life
János Áder has been married to Anita Herczegh since 1984. She works as a judge. They have four children: three daughters named Orsolya, Borbála, and Júlia, and a son named András.
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His sister, Annamária, is a high school teacher. She is married to Gábor Pölöskei, a former footballer. Áder's father-in-law, Géza Herczegh, was a judge at the International Court of Justice from 1993 to 2003. János Áder is a Roman Catholic.
Honours and Awards
János Áder has received several honours and awards during his career.
Domestic Honours
Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen
Grand Cross with Chain of the Hungarian Order of Merit
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Foreign Honours
Two Sicilian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, Special Class
Poland: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle
Ukraine: Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2012
See also
In Spanish: János Áder para niños
