Péter Márki-Zay

Péter Márki-Zay (born 9 May 1972)[2] is a Hungarian politician, marketer, economist and electrical engineer. He is the mayor of Hódmezővásárhely since 2018[6][1], as well as the cofounder of the Everybody's Hungary Movement (Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom; MMM).[7][8]

The native form of this personal name is Márki-Zay Péter. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Péter Márki-Zay
Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely
Assumed office
3 March 2018[1]
Preceded byIstván Almási
Personal details
Born (1972-05-09) 9 May 1972[2]
Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
Spouse(s)Felícia Márki-Zayné Vincze[3]
ChildrenFerenc, Lilla, Teodóra, Gellért, Emma, Lóránt, Pál[4]
Alma materPázmány Péter Catholic University
Professionpolitician, marketer, economist, and electrical engineer[5]

Political career

In 2018, Márki-Zay announced that he would be running as an independent candidate in the Hódmezővásárhely mayoral by-election. His candidacy was initially supported by three opposition parties, including the Hungarian Socialist Party, Politics Can Be Different and Jobbik,[9] with Momentum and the Democratic Coalition endorsing him a few days later.[10] Márki-Zay has said that he did not sympathise with the views of any of the parties supporting him, describing himself as a right-wing Christian, and a disappointed Fidesz voter.[11]

Despite the historically unprecedented unity of the opposition parties backing him, his candidacy was initially seen as a long-shot by many observers, owing to Fidesz's popularity in the city,[12] as well as Márki-Zay's political inexperience.[13] On 25 February 2018, he defeated Zoltán Hegedűs by 13076 votes to 9468,[6][14] becoming the city's first non-Fidesz mayor since 1990.[15] He assumed office on 3 March, with Andrea Kis from the Hungarian Socialist Party as his deputy mayor.[16]

Following his success, Márki-Zay has continued to advocate for a nationwide unity between opposition parties.[17] In 2018, he founded the non-partisan Everybody's Hungary Movement (Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom; MMM) in order to further cooperation between opposition parties,[18] and to support representative democracy.[7]

During his first term as a mayor, Márki-Zay has vowed to fight for transparency. He revealed that the city was in a much worse financial situation than previously reported.[19] He also made the donations to the city's sports clubs public[20] and revealed that the city's previous leadership regularly failed to pay overtime to their workers.[21] However, his time was not without controversy. He was fined for libel on multiple occasions[22][23] and ordered to remove a "migrant counter" he placed inside the city hall.[24]

In 2019, Márki-Zay ran for reelection, this time under the banner of MMM, as well as the Organisation for a Clean Vásárhely (Tiszta Vásárhelyért Egyesület). His candidacy was once again supported by all major opposition parties. He defeated the Fidesz-backed independent candidate István Grezsa by 13478 votes to 10042, earning him a second term as the city's mayor.[25]

Personal life

Márki-Zay is married to Felícia Vincze, a midwife and physicist. They have seven children.[11][26] Márki-Zay is a Roman Catholic.[27]

References
  1. Sarkadi, Zsolt (3 March 2018). "Beiktatják Márki-Zay Pétert". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  2. Cservenák, Zoltán (24 January 2018). ""Fel kell szabadítani a várost" – Márki-Zay Péter útja a polgármesteri csatáig". Magyar Narancs (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  3. Biró, Marianna (1 February 2019). "Gyermekhalál-ügyben vették össztűz alá Márki-Zay Péter feleségét". Index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  4. Török, Anita (25 October 2009). "5 év után 7 gyermekkel tértek haza". Délmagyar (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  5. "Elnökség". mindenkimagyarorszaga.hu. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  6. "Hódmezővásárhely időközi polgármester-választás". valasztas.hu (in Hungarian). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  7. "Nagy nevekkel indult el Márki-Zay Péter mozgalma". HVG (in Hungarian). 1 January 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  8. "Does Péter Márki-Zay's new movement pose a threat to Fidesz?". Hungarian Spectrum. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. Dull, Szabolcs (5 January 2018). "MSZP-Jobbik-LMP egységfront bontakozik ki Lázár János városában". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. Urfi, Péter (7 January 2018). "A Momentum és a DK is felsorakozik a független hódmezővásárhelyi jelölt mögé". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  11. G. Tóth, Ilda (25 February 2018). "Márki-Zay Péter a HVG Portréban: "Soha nem azonosultam sem a baloldallal, sem a Jobbikkal"". HVG (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  12. "Hungary: surprise defeat for Viktor Orbán in bellwether byelection". The Guardian. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  13. Sarkadi, Zsolt; Halász, Júlia (13 January 2018). "Ha Lázár János a lovát indítaná el a választáson, akkor az is megnyerné". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  14. Karasz, Palko (26 February 2018). "Hungary's Opposition Sees Hope After Orban's Candidate Falls". New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  15. "To run against Fidesz might be injurious to your health: The case of Péter Márki-Zay". Hungarian Spectrum. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  16. Sarkadi, Zsolt (3 March 2018). "A hódmezővásárhelyi MSZP vezetőjét kérte fel Márki-Zay alpolgármesternek". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  17. Jenei, Miklós (1 March 2018). "Márki-Zay: Csak egy módja van a kormányváltásnak". index.hu. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  18. Varga, Krisztián (17 October 2018). ""Dokumentum aláírva – hamarosan jöhet Márki-Zay ellenzéki egyesülete". atv.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  19. "Négymilliárdos adóssággal szembesült Márki-Zay Péter". Hír TV (in Hungarian). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  20. "Márki-Zay visszaszúr a szívatásért: a tao-pénzek is nyilvánosak lesznek Hódmezővásárhelyen". HVG (in Hungarian). 20 March 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  21. "Márki-Zay: Volt olyan önkormányzati dolgozó, akinek ezernél is több kifizetetlen túlórája volt". HVG (in Hungarian). 16 January 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  22. Lovas, Gergő (20 December 2018). "Márki-Zayt 800 ezerre büntették egy kórházra tett megjegyzése miatt". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  23. Joób, Sándor (24 April 2019). "Két újabb pert veszített kijelentései miatt Márki-Zay Péter". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  24. Botos, Tamás (13 March 2018). "Leszedették Márki-Zay migránsszámlálóját". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  25. "Hódmezővásárhely települési választás eredményei". valasztas.hu (in Hungarian). 13 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  26. Balavány, György (26 June 2019). "Elég nagy baj, hogy Márki-Zay veri a gyerekeit, de még nagyobb, hogy büszkélkedik vele". 24.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  27. Urfi, Péter (12 January 2018). "Márki-Zay arra kéri katolikus testvéreit, hogy imádkozzanak vele a megbékélésért, miközben a plébános a szószékről buzdítja a híveket, hogy szavazzanak a Fideszre". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
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