András Fekete-Győr

András Fekete-Győr (born April 13, 1989, in Budapest) is a Hungarian lawyer, politician, and the founder of the Momentum Movement. He was the president of the Momentum Movement from 2016 to 2021.[1] He became the first post-regime change member of parliament to be legally convicted of a crime committed during a demonstration, which made him unfit to serve as a member of parliament.[2][3]

András Fekete-Győr
Fekete-Győr András 2017-ben.jpg
Founder of the Momentum Movement
Personal details
Born13 April 1989
Budapest, Hungary
CitizenshipHungarian
NationalityHungarian
Political partyMomentum Movement logo.svg Momentum Movement
EducationHeidelberg University
Humboldt-University of Berlin
Eötvös Loránd University
OccupationPolitician
Lawyer
WebsiteFacebook
Instagram

His family

His maternal great-grandfather was Ödön Kuncz, an internationally renowned law professor and the creator of commercial law. His maternal grandfather, József Kuncz, was a lawyer who led one of the revolutionary groups at the Hungarian National Bank in 1956. After the suppression of the 1956 uprising, he was removed from his job and the bar association, but he was rehabilitated in the 1960s. The Kuncz family originates from Transylvania. His paternal grandfather, Endre Fekete-Győr, was an agricultural engineer who worked at the Ministry of Agriculture as a rapporteur and later department head between 1948 and 1957, and served as the council president of Heves County from 1969 to 1981.[4] His father, also named András Fekete-Győr, was the deputy managing director of the National Deposit Insurance Fund from 1993, and its managing director from 2010 to 2018.[5][6] His mother, Magdolna Kuncz, is a foreign trade expert.

Political career

He believed there was no solidarity on the right and no positive vision of the nation on the left, so he set out to create a new generational political community, which would later become a new political party in Hungary.[7] In 20152016, he gained experience at the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs in Brussels. Later, he won a Bundestag scholarship in Berlin, where he interned in the office of Hans-Peter Friedrich.[8]

In 2018, András Fekete-Győr was featured on the American Forbes magazine’s "30 Under 30" list, recognizing young politicians under 30 who have the greatest impact on European politics and public life.[9] In March of that year, Euronews included him among the nominees for its "European of the Year" award (though he did not win). In the fall of 2018, he received a scholarship from the International Visitors Leadership Program, supported by the U.S. Department of State.[10]

Criminal case

In December 2018, during a protest, András Fekete-Győr threw a smoke flare toward police officers,[11] an action he later said he did not regret.[12] On April 2, 2019, the Budapest Regional Investigative Prosecutor’s Office announced that he was questioned as a suspect for the crime of violence against an official in connection with the incident.[13] On October 17, 2024, the Budapest-Capital Regional Court of Appeal, in a final third-instance ruling, sentenced him to a one-year prison term, suspended for two years.[14] This made Fekete-Győr the first post-regime change member of parliament to be convicted of a crime during his term, rendering him unfit to continue as a parliamentarian. Although he stated he would not wait for the parliament’s formal incompatibility procedure and would resign voluntarily, it was ultimately the parliament that declared his incompatibility. As a result, his mandate ended.[15]


In May 2017, Origo, one of Hungary’s most well-known government-aligned disinformation news portals, published articles analyzing the Momentum Movement’s members and actions.[16] Considering the articles defamatory and full of lies, András Fekete-Győr and a few companions entered Origo’s office without permission,[17][18] recorded footage, and later made it public.[19]

References

  1. Tóth Richi (2017-03-05). "Párttá alakul a Momentum, Fekete-Győr az új elnök". 24.hu. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  2. "Elítélték Fekete-Győr Andrást, a Parlamentbe sem ülhet már be". Economx.hu (in magyar). Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  3. "Jogerősen elítélték Fekete-Győr Andrást". Világgazdaság (in magyar). 2024-10-17. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  4. Szentesi Zöldi László (2017-03-19). "Egy bukás anatómiája". Demokrata. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  5. "Kinevezték az OBA új ügyvezető igazgatóját". HVG. 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  6. Brückner Gergely (2018-01-09). "Fekete-Győr András, a momentumos politikus édesapja távozik az OBA éléről". Index.hu. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  7. "Párttá alakult a Momentum". Archived from the original on 2018-06-16. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  8. "Egy magyar fiatal, akitől megijedt az egész Orbán-kormány". Index.hu. 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  9. A Momentum elnöke Európa 30 legbefolyásosabb fiatalja között
  10. "Amerikába utazik tanulni Fekete-Győr András és Szél Bernadett. A két politikus az amerikai külügyminisztérium ösztöndíjasa lett". Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  11. Jasku, Péter (2019-04-29). "Újabb gyanúsított a Momentum Mozgalomnál". Ügyészség (in magyar). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  12. "Fekete-Győr András: Orbán fél a fiataloktól, ezért akar engem bilincsben látni (videó)". Népszava (in magyar). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  13. Márk, Herczeg (2019-04-03). "Meggyanúsította az ügyészség Fekete-Győr Andrást". 444. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  14. "Jogerősen elítélték Fekete-Győr Andrást hivatalos személy elleni erőszak miatt". telex (in magyar). 2024-10-17. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  15. "Cseh Katalinnak adja mandátumát Fekete-Győr András". telex (in magyar). 2024-10-17. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  16. "Soros György kottájából játszik a Momentum Mozgalom". ORIGO (in magyar). 2017-05-16. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  17. Momentum Mozgalom Facebook profil: Propagandistáknál jártunk, hátha van még lelkiismeretük. 2017 május 18.
  18. "Betört az Origóhoz Fekete-Győr". Magyar Idők (in magyar). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  19. "Betört az Origóhoz a Momentum Mozgalom". ORIGO (in magyar). 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2024-10-22.