István Tarlós has been the mayor of Budapest since 2010. 

Biography

Grew up and graduated from high school in Budapest. Received degrees in engineering from the Transportation and Telecommunications Technical College and in economy and organization from the Miklós Ybl Technical College in Budapest. Worked for state construction companies for 15 years following graduation.

Elected mayor of the third district of Budapest (Óbuda) as the joint candidate of the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) and Fidesz in 1990. Reelected as Budapest third-district mayor in 1994, 1998 and 2002 as independent.

Lost election for mayor of Budapest as independent with support of Fidesz and the Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) in 2006. Served as head of the Fidesz-KDNP caucus in Budapest Municipal Assembly from 2006 to 2010.

Won election for mayor of Budapest as Fidesz-KDNP candidate in 2010.

Notable Quotes

“Keeping with the spirit of the Fundamental Law we will designated those areas that are prohibited to ‘move into.’ For example, Metro stations, railway stations and prominent public places. We will remove the homeless who still choose not to accept a helping hand from these areas. We will not permit the city to become the stables of Augeas!” August 17, 2013 in interview with the pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet about his homeless policy  (source in Hungarian).

“That whole phenomenon is unnatural and repugnant [visszataszító].” June 4, 2015, speaking about the annual Budapest Pride gay parade (source in Hungarian).

Last updated: June 27, 2018.