József Torgyán (16 November 1932 − 22 January 2017) was a Hungarian lawyer and politician, chairman of the

Independent Smallholders' Party The Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party ( hu, Független Kisgazda-, Földmunkás- és Polgári Párt), known mostly by its acronym FKgP or its shortened form Independent Smallholders' Party ( hu, Független Kisgazdapárt), ...

(1991−2002), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (1998−2001) in the Government of

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between ...

Biography

Between 1951-1955 he studied at the Faculty of Law of the Eötvös Loránd University in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(ELTE). He took part in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. After graduation, he worked as a lawyer, since political activity was repressed. In 1988 he was among the founders of the Independent Smallholders Party. In 1990 he received the first seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

(re-elected in 1994 and 1998). After

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; hu, Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán. It was formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young ...

had won the first round of the parliamentary elections in 1998, the Smallholders Party concluded an alliance with

, as a result of which center right parties obtained a majority in the National Assembly. The Smallholders Party, together with the

Hungarian Democratic Forum The Hungarian Democratic Forum ( hu, Magyar Demokrata Fórum, MDF) was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a Hungarian nationalist, national-conservative, Christian-democratic ideology. The party was represented continuously in the ...

(MDF) became part of the ruling coalition that was led by

. In this government Torgyán held the position of deputy prime minister and minister for agriculture. In 2000 he was one of the candidates for the office of

President of Hungary The president of Hungary, officially the president of the republicUnder the Constitution of Hungary, Basic Law, adopted in 2011, the official name of the state is simply Hungary; Before, the state was called the Republic of Hungary. However, t ...

. In the 2002 elections the party received no seats and found itself on the margins of politics. In 2006, Torgyán became chairman of the Hungarian Torgyán Renewal Movement.

Personal life and death

He married Mária Cseh in 1959, who was an actress in the National Theatre of Pécs. Their son, Atilla is an editor. He died on 22 January 2017 in Budapest.

Books

* Antalltól Orbánig (2005

* Kereszténység az ezer vallás világában 2006 * Humor a házban (2007) * Száll a turul fészkére (2016)

References

External links

Rövid életrajz

1991: az FKGP társelnökévé választják Torgyán doktort
Index, 2008. április 26.
Torgyán József interjú - Torgyán-Kisgazda-Koalíció
Magyarpartok, 2010. február 09. 1932 births 2017 deaths People from Mátészalka Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party politicians Agriculture ministers of Hungary Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1990–1994) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1994–1998) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1998–2002) {{Hungary-politician-stub