A reorganization of Hungary’s diplomatic network is underway, about which Anita Orban, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke on Monday evening on ATV television’s “Egyenes beszéd” program, reports Nepszava.hu.
Anita Orban announced that historian Balázs Ablonczy has been proposed as ambassador to Paris, while historian and Polish studies scholar Miklós Mitrovics will be sent to Warsaw.
In Beijing, Hungary’s diplomatic mission will be headed by career diplomat Tamás Hajba, who previously worked for more than ten years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then spent almost a decade as an OECD expert on China. The appointments were preceded by a significant personnel reorganization.
Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs explained that, out of a total of 138 ambassadors and consul generals, 34 had been recalled to the country, representing around a quarter of the heads of diplomatic missions.
As reasons for the decisions, she cited problems with political and professional credibility, as well as the fact that some of them had held the same position for 10 to 12 years, while the usual duration of a diplomatic rotation is four plus one year. She also addressed the term “favorites,” which had appeared in the media in connection with the changes.
Orban said that around 1,400 diplomatic passports had been withdrawn because she believed they had been issued without justification, and that abuses connected to the state VIP lounge at the airport had also been uncovered.
As early as late July, Nepszava reported that Hungary’s then-President Tamás Sulyok had, at the proposal of Minister Orban, signed a decision dismissing the ambassadors, which was published in the Hungarian Official Gazette.
The ambassadors from Norway, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Russia, Luxembourg, London, Serbia and the United States were relieved of their duties, with expressions of appreciation for their services.
Also relieved of their positions were István Balogh (Hungary’s Permanent Representation to NATO in Brussels), Ferenc Dancs (Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna and Hungary’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Vienna) and Zsófia Havasi (Hungary’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva and Hungary’s Representation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva).
Viktor Géza Filep was also dismissed from his positions (Pretoria, Kingdom of Eswatini, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kingdom of Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia, Mauritius, Madagascar and Malawi), as was the diplomat from Denmark, Qatar, Singapore and Iraq, Gábor Tamás Nagy (Wellington, Republic of Fiji, Kingdom of Tonga, Independent State of Samoa, Tuvalu, Republic of Kiribati and Cook Islands), Georgia, Kristian Pózsa (Sarajevo), Ana Marija Šiko (Yerevan), Gábor Levente Sarka (Algeria and Mali), Titanila Tóth (Manila, Republic of Palau, Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia) and Ana Zsófia Villegas-Vitézi (Bogotá and Republic of Panama).
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar held a meeting with Minister Orban.
“Today, at the annual meeting of heads of diplomatic missions, I had the opportunity to greet Hungarian ambassadors, consul generals and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I reminded the heads of missions never to forget that they do not represent the ministry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the prime minister, but Hungary, a country with 1,026 years of history, and all their compatriots,” Magyar said, reports Klix.
He added that the work of Hungary’s ambassadors would not be evaluated according to the number of receptions and protocol meetings they attend, but according to what they manage to achieve for Hungary.
“With the formation of the TISA government, Hungarian diplomacy has been given an opportunity, one that has not arisen for many years, to strengthen our alliances and improve the international position of our country,” Magyar said.
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Source: Danas, Foto: Wikipedia
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