Mátyás Eörsi
Encyclopedia
Mátyás Eörsi MP
, (born in Budapest
, 24 November 1954) is a Hungarian politician who was the leader of the liberal ALDE-PACE Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE). He became a member of the PACE in 1994. On 6 March 2009 the Hungarian government nominated Eörsi to Secretary General of the Council of Europe
.
Eörsi studied law in Budapest and was elected to parliament in 1990. He has been an MP ever since. In 1997 he was appointed Political State Secretary
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a period of almost two years.
regime in the final months of the war. As a committed democrat, she was one of the 350,000 people purged by the Rákosi regime from 1946 onwards. She was jailed and tortured again. Oddly, the woman who tortured her was the same during both regimes. His father, Gyula Eörsi was a law professor, an author of several books and a major contributor to UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. His mother, Marianna Eörsi was a teacher of Hungarian literature and grammar at high schools. He is a nephew of the Hungarian author and former dissident István Eörsi.
. In 1987 he established his own law firm, Eörsi & Partners. His company, one of the first private law firms in Hungary, was among others specialized in commercial law
and soon became one of the leading Budapest law firms. Although Matyás Eörsi is a full time politician now, he is still active as an arbitrator
at the Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Trade.
, one of the first Hungarian democratic parties. As such he was involved in the so called National Negotiations, the series of negotiations between the Communist Party
and the emerging opposition on the rules and laws of the transition to a democratic system. A year later, as a member of the CEC (Central Election Commission), he was co-responsible for a historical referendum on crucial constitutional affairs. In 1989 Eörsi was elected to parliament
, during the first free general elections Hungary ever had. In the first parliamentary term he was a member of the Constitutional Committee, where most laws for the constitutional changes were prepared and agreed on. At the same period, he was member of the EU-Integration Committee as well.
(2004), Eörsi became the President of the Committee for European Affairs, a position he still holds.
(PACE), as early as 1994, gave an extra dimension to the political career of Eörsi. The PACE has provided him the opportunity to work at his personal mission: assist in political transitions and the creation of democratic institutions in order to safeguard human rights and rule of law. Due to his commitment to democracy, Eörsi has undertaken numerous missions to support democratic developments in Europe
and beyond, among others on behalf of the NDI
(National Democratic Institute for International Affairs) in Washington, D.C.
and the Freedom House
During these missions, he shared the Hungarian transition experiences of the early 90’s with countries like Albania
, Latvia
, in all South Caucasus
countries and later South Africa
, Burundi
, Indonesia
, Mali
and Montenegro
. Furthermore he was involved in the Israeli/Palestinian peace process and in 2007 he visited even Cuba
, to share the Hungarian experiences and strategies with the opposition. In the PACE Mátyás Eörsi guided the democratic reforms in Georgia
as Rapporteur
since 2000 and numerous times he has been chairperson of election observation missions. He submitted several reports for the Assembly
, but he takes a special pride in three of them. The report about Cyprus
(2004) was supported by all stakeholders, unprecedented in the history of the Assembly. His recent report on Attitude to memorials exposed to different historical interpretations (2009), was also adopted with consensus and it was applauded both by Estonian and Russian members. His report on the Balkans
(2006) provided a comprehensive set of recommendations on European aid to citizens of the Balkan countries.
Late 2009/early 2010 Eörsi lead the PACE observers-mission during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections.
. They have three children: Márton (1981) is a lawyer, Júlia (1983) is a sociologist and Péter (1990) is a high school graduate.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, (born in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, 24 November 1954) is a Hungarian politician who was the leader of the liberal ALDE-PACE Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
(PACE). He became a member of the PACE in 1994. On 6 March 2009 the Hungarian government nominated Eörsi to Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe is appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers for a period of five years...
.
Eörsi studied law in Budapest and was elected to parliament in 1990. He has been an MP ever since. In 1997 he was appointed Political State Secretary
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a period of almost two years.
Personal Background and Professional life
Eörsi was born in Budapest. His grandmother, Ernőné Hajdu Fanni, Auer was a Social democrat member of parliament in 1945-1948. She was arrested and tortured by the SzálasiFerenc Szálasi
Ferenc Szálasi was the leader of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party – Hungarist Movement, the "Leader of the Nation" , being both Head of State and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary's "Government of National Unity" for the final three months of Hungary's participation in World War II...
regime in the final months of the war. As a committed democrat, she was one of the 350,000 people purged by the Rákosi regime from 1946 onwards. She was jailed and tortured again. Oddly, the woman who tortured her was the same during both regimes. His father, Gyula Eörsi was a law professor, an author of several books and a major contributor to UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. His mother, Marianna Eörsi was a teacher of Hungarian literature and grammar at high schools. He is a nephew of the Hungarian author and former dissident István Eörsi.
Education
Mátyás Eörsi was educated at the Kossuth Zsuzsa High School in Budapest. He was admitted to the Law Faculty of the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, where he graduated in 1979.Employment
Eörsi's started his career as in house legal counsel to a Hungarian state company in international tradingInternational trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...
. In 1987 he established his own law firm, Eörsi & Partners. His company, one of the first private law firms in Hungary, was among others specialized in commercial law
Commercial law
Commercial law is the body of law that governs business and commercial transactions...
and soon became one of the leading Budapest law firms. Although Matyás Eörsi is a full time politician now, he is still active as an arbitrator
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
at the Arbitration Court attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Trade.
Political biography
In 1988 Eörsi was among the founders of the liberal-democrat SZDSZAlliance of Free Democrats
The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party is a liberal party in Hungary, led since July 2010 by Viktor Szabadai . The SZDSZ is a member of the ELDR and of Liberal International...
, one of the first Hungarian democratic parties. As such he was involved in the so called National Negotiations, the series of negotiations between the Communist Party
Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party
The Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party was the ruling Marxist–Leninist party of Hungary between 1956 and 1989. It was organised from elements of the Hungarian Working People's Party during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution...
and the emerging opposition on the rules and laws of the transition to a democratic system. A year later, as a member of the CEC (Central Election Commission), he was co-responsible for a historical referendum on crucial constitutional affairs. In 1989 Eörsi was elected to parliament
National Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly or Diet is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 386 members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is based on a complex system involving both area and list election; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to enter list members...
, during the first free general elections Hungary ever had. In the first parliamentary term he was a member of the Constitutional Committee, where most laws for the constitutional changes were prepared and agreed on. At the same period, he was member of the EU-Integration Committee as well.
Foreign Policy, Political State Secretary
In 1994 Mátyás Eörsi became President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament and in 1997 he was appointed Political State Secretary (First Deputy Foreign Minister) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After Hungary's entry into the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(2004), Eörsi became the President of the Committee for European Affairs, a position he still holds.
International Work, Council of Europe
His membership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
(PACE), as early as 1994, gave an extra dimension to the political career of Eörsi. The PACE has provided him the opportunity to work at his personal mission: assist in political transitions and the creation of democratic institutions in order to safeguard human rights and rule of law. Due to his commitment to democracy, Eörsi has undertaken numerous missions to support democratic developments in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and beyond, among others on behalf of the NDI
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs is an organization created by the United States government by way of the National Endowment for Democracy to channel grants for furthering democracy in developing nations. It was founded in 1983, shortly after the U.S. Congress created...
(National Democratic Institute for International Affairs) in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and the Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
During these missions, he shared the Hungarian transition experiences of the early 90’s with countries like Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, in all South Caucasus
South Caucasus
The South Caucasus is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Trans-Caucasus...
countries and later South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. Furthermore he was involved in the Israeli/Palestinian peace process and in 2007 he visited even Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, to share the Hungarian experiences and strategies with the opposition. In the PACE Mátyás Eörsi guided the democratic reforms in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
as Rapporteur
Rapporteur
Rapporteur is used in international and European legal and political contexts to refer to a person appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue or a situation....
since 2000 and numerous times he has been chairperson of election observation missions. He submitted several reports for the Assembly
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
, but he takes a special pride in three of them. The report about Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
(2004) was supported by all stakeholders, unprecedented in the history of the Assembly. His recent report on Attitude to memorials exposed to different historical interpretations (2009), was also adopted with consensus and it was applauded both by Estonian and Russian members. His report on the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
(2006) provided a comprehensive set of recommendations on European aid to citizens of the Balkan countries.
Late 2009/early 2010 Eörsi lead the PACE observers-mission during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections.
Family
His wife, Katalin is a biologist at the Chemical Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of SciencesHungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
. They have three children: Márton (1981) is a lawyer, Júlia (1983) is a sociologist and Péter (1990) is a high school graduate.