Árpád Göncz

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Árpád Göncz

1st President of the Republic of Hungary
In office August 4, 1990 – August 4, 2000
Preceded by	Mátyás Szűrös
Succeeded by	Ferenc Mádl

Born	February 10, 1922 Budapest
Political party	SZDSZ (liberal)

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. 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. In these periods he was very well-received by the public as he succeeded to remain free from politics which helped him gain a wide acceptance. Even today he is honoured by a large portion of the public and in general thought to be the best President of the Republic that Hungary had after 1989 - so much so that he is sometimes - erroneously - considered by many as still being the President of the Republic.