Biography

Image via Hungary Today

Former President Novák was elected as the President of the Republic of Hungary and took office on May 10, 2022 as the youngest president of the country and the first woman to hold the office.

Katalin Novák was born in Szeged. She completed her university studies at the University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration of Budapest and at the University of Szeged, and also studied in Paris with a scholarship. Professionally, she is an economist.

She began her career in government service in 2001 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After spending six years at home raising her children, she returned as an adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and then became the Head of Cabinet of Minister Zoltán Balog at the Ministry of Human Capacities. From 2014 to 2020 she was Secretary of State for Family and Youth Affairs, and then served as Minister for Families. She has been a member of the Hungarian National Assembly since 2018.

She has lived and worked in the United States, France and Germany. In addition to her mother tongue, she is fluent in English, French and German and conversational Spanish. She is married and is the mother of two boys and a girl.