Zoltán Balog (politician)

Zoltán Balog ( born January 7, 1958 in Ózd ) is a Hungarian politician and Calvinist pastor. Since May 2012, he is under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Minister of Human Resources with responsibility for health, social, youth, education, culture and sports.

Career

Zoltán Balog studied Protestant theology in 1978, first in Hungary, between 1980 and 1983 in Berlin (East) and at the Martin -Luther- University Halle- Wittenberg. From 1983 to 1987 he worked as a parish priest in Maglód, then he went for further theological studies in Tübingen. 1989 renamed it the World Council of Churches in Hungary as a pastor for the refugees from the GDR in the refugee camp Budapest Csillebérc.

From 1989 to 1991 he was professor of New Testament at the Reformed University in Budapest, then to 1996 religious teachers. In addition to an official, he worked from 1991 to 1994 as a consultant to the FIDESZ in church affairs. After a long stay as a visiting scientist at the University of Bonn he worked from 1996 to 2006 as pastor of the German Reformed church in Budapest. From 1998 to 2002 he was also adviser to Prime Minister Orbán, 2002-2003, Office of the Hungarian president in charge of social policy.

In the parliamentary elections in Hungary in 2006, he received a mandate in the Hungarian Parliament. This mandate he defended in the parliamentary elections of 2010. After the election, he joined the second Orbán government as Secretary of State for Social Inclusion, Ministry of Public Administration and Justice a. In May 2012, the Minister of National Resources, Miklós Réthelyi resigned, Prime Minister Orbán Balog appointed as his successor in the renamed Office of the Minister of Human Resources.