Péter Márki-Zay

Péter "MZP" Márki-Zay (Hungarian pronunciation: [peːtɛɾ maːɾkizɒji],[7] born 9 May 1972) is a Hungarian-Canadian politician, marketer, economist, electrical engineer and historian.[6] He has been the mayor of Hódmezővásárhely since 2018,[8][1] and is the co-founder of the Everybody's Hungary Movement (Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom; MMM).[9][10] As the winner of the 2021 Hungarian opposition primary, he will be the joint opposition candidate challenging Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election.[11]

The native form of this personal name is Márki-Zay Péter. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Péter Márki-Zay
Márki-Zay in 2018
Mayor of Hódmezővásárhely
Assumed office
3 March 2018[1]
Preceded byIstván Almási
Personal details
Born (1972-05-09) 9 May 1972[2]
Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary
Political partyNon-partisan
Other political
affiliations		Everybody's Hungary Movement (2018–)
United Opposition (2020–)
Spouse(s)Felícia Márki-Zayné Vincze[3]
ChildrenFerenc, Lilla, Teodóra, Gellért, Emma, Lóránt, Pál[4]
Alma materBudapest Business School
Corvinus University of Budapest
Óbuda University
Pázmány Péter Catholic University
Professionpolitician, marketer, economist, electrical engineer, historian[5][6]

Early life and Career

Childhood and education

Márki-Zay was born in Hódmezővásárhely, in the Hungarian People's Republic, on 9 May 1972, to a mother who was a chemist and a father who was a physics teacher. He grew up in a conservative and religious family. His great-grandfather was the principal of the Calvinist grammar school of Hódmezővásárhely.[12] Márki-Zay graduated from the Bethlen Gábor Calvinist Grammar School (Bethlen Gábor Református Gimnázium) at Hódmezővásárhely in 1990.[13]

From 1990 to 1993, Márki-Zay attended the College of Commerce and Hospitality (Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Főiskola) at Budapest, where he studied marketing, then the University of Economics of Budapest (Budapesti Közgazdaságtudományi Egyetem) from 1993 to 1996, where he studied economics. Between 1997 and 2001, he studied electrical engineering at the Technical College of Budapest (Budapesti Műszaki Főiskola).[13] He also studied the history of economics at Pázmány Péter Catholic University from 2000 and 2005 and graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in 2006.[14]

Early career

Between 1996 and 2004, Márki-Zay first worked at DÉMÁSZ, which was at the time responsible for supplying electricity to Southern Hungary, then at Kontavill-Legrand as an economist and marketing manager.[13]

In 2004, he moved to Canada, with his wife Felícia and their five children. There, he first worked as a door-to-door salesman for a phone service provider, then at the marketing department of Carquest.[13][15] After about two and a half years, the family moved to the United States, where he continued to work for Carquest.[13] Between 2008 and 2009, he was a member of the Eastern Indiana Regional Workforce Board.[15] In 2009, the family returned to Hódmezővásárhely, together with their two youngest children, who were born abroad.[16]

In Hódmezővásárhely, he worked at the electricity supplier of Szeged, first in strategical planning, then leading customer service. In 2013, he became a member of the Hungarian Electrotechnical Association (Magyar Elektrotechnikai Egyesület). Between 2016 and 2017, he was the leader of marketing and domestic logistics at Legrand Hungary.[13][17] Until 2014, he taught nonprofit and business marketing at the University of Szeged (Szegedi Tudományegyetem).[13][18]

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, the Hungarian Socialist Party, Politics Can Be Different and Jobbik;[19] Momentum and the Democratic Coalition endorsed him a few days later.[20] Márki-Zay 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.[21]

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,[22] as well as Márki-Zay's political inexperience.[23] On 25 February 2018, he defeated Zoltán Hegedűs by 13,076 votes to 9,468,[8][24] becoming the city's first non-Fidesz mayor since 1990.[25] He assumed office on 3 March, with Andrea Kis from the Hungarian Socialist Party as his deputy mayor.[26]

Following his success, Márki-Zay continued to advocate for a nationwide unity between opposition parties.[27] In 2018, he founded the non-partisan Everybody's Hungary Movement (Mindenki Magyarországa Mozgalom; MMM) in order to further cooperation between opposition parties,[28] and to support representative democracy.[9]

During his first term as a mayor, Márki-Zay vowed to fight for transparency. He revealed that the city was in a much worse financial situation than previously reported.[29] He also made the donations to the city's sports clubs public[30] and revealed that the city's previous leadership regularly failed to pay overtime to their workers.[31] However, his time was not without controversy. He was fined for libel on multiple occasions[32][33] and ordered to remove a "migrant counter" he placed inside the city hall.[34]

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 13,478 votes to 10,042, earning him a second term as the city's mayor.[35]

In 2021, Márki-Zay announced his intent to run as a candidate for Prime Minister under the banner of the Hungarian opposition. In the first round of the primaries, Márki-Zay came in third place with 20.43% of the vote, placing behind Klára Dobrev and Gergely Karácsony. Karácsony of the PM–MSZP–LMP coalition withdrew before the run-off announcing his support for Márki-Zay.[36] On 17 October, Márki-Zay won the run-off with 56.7% of the vote.[37] Therefore, in the 2022 election, Márki-Zay will be the leader and Prime Ministerial candidate of the United Opposition.[38]

In 2021 he was named one of the 28 most influential people in Europe, in the "Dreamers" section, by Politico Europe.[39]

Political positions

Márki-Zay has described himself as a right-wing Christian and a disappointed Fidesz voter.[21]

Márki-Zay supports increased European integration.[40] He stated that, if elected in April, he will introduce a new constitution to restore the rule of law and to introduce same-sex marriage.[41]

Personal life

As of 2021, Márki-Zay is married to Felícia Lilla Vincze, a physicist, midwife and doula. They have seven children: Ferenc (b. 1996), Lilla (b. 1997), Teodóra (b. 1998), Gellért (b. 2000), Emma (b. 2003), Lóránt (b. 2005) and Pál (b. 2009).[21][16][42] The family is practicing Roman Catholic.[43] Péter Márki-Zay is a dual citizen, Hungarian and Canadian.[44]

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. Crowcroft, Orlando (19 October 2021). "Peter Marki-Zay: Is this the man who can beat Viktor Orban?". euronews.com. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  7. "Végre megtudtuk, hogy kell ejteni Márki-Zay Péter családnevét". 444.hu (in Hungarian). 18 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  8. "Hódmezővásárhely időközi polgármester-választás". valasztas.hu (in Hungarian). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. "Nagy nevekkel indult el Márki-Zay Péter mozgalma". HVG (in Hungarian). 1 January 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. "Does Péter Márki-Zay's new movement pose a threat to Fidesz?". Hungarian Spectrum. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  11. "Conservative mayor Marki-Zay wins run-off to challenge Hungary's Orban". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  12. "Magyar Narancs - Kis-Magyarország - "Fel kell szabadítani a várost" – Márki-Zay Péter útja a polgármesteri csatáig". 26 February 2018. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  13. "Péter Márki-Zay - LinkedIn".
  14. "Márki-Zay Péter védése". doktori.hu. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  15. "BEMUTATKOZÁS MEE Marketing és Kommunikációs Bizottság, 2013" (PDF).
  16. Megosztom, 2009 10 25 18:21 (25 October 2009). "5 év után 7 gyermekkel tértek haza | DÉLMAGYAR Hódmezővásárhely, Hódmezővásárhely és környéke". DÉLMAGYAR (in Hungarian). Retrieved 18 October 2021.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. "Hol az igazság?A Legrand közleménye! | Promenád.hu - a vidék hírportálja". 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  18. "Bemutatkozás - dr. Márki-Zay Péter". 26 February 2018. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  19. Dull, Szabolcs (5 January 2018). "MSZP-Jobbik-LMP egységfront bontakozik ki Lázár János városában". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. "Hungary: surprise defeat for Viktor Orbán in bellwether byelection". The Guardian. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  23. 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.
  24. Karasz, Palko (26 February 2018). "Hungary's Opposition Sees Hope After Orban's Candidate Falls". New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  25. "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.
  26. Sarkadi, Zsolt (3 March 2018). "A hódmezővásárhelyi MSZP vezetőjét kérte fel Márki-Zay alpolgármesternek". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  27. Jenei, Miklós (1 March 2018). "Márki-Zay: Csak egy módja van a kormányváltásnak". index.hu. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  28. Varga, Krisztián (17 October 2018). "Dokumentum aláírva – hamarosan jöhet Márki-Zay ellenzéki egyesülete". atv.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  29. "Négymilliárdos adóssággal szembesült Márki-Zay Péter". Hír TV (in Hungarian). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  30. "Márki-Zay visszaszúr a szívatásért: a tao-pénzek is nyilvánosak lesznek Hódmezővásárhelyen". HVG (in Hungarian). 20 March 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  31. "Márki-Zay: Volt olyan önkormányzati dolgozó, akinek ezernél is több kifizetetlen túlórája volt". HVG (in Hungarian). 16 January 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  32. Lovas, Gergő (20 December 2018). "Márki-Zayt 800 ezerre büntették egy kórházra tett megjegyzése miatt". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  33. Joób, Sándor (24 April 2019). "Két újabb pert veszített kijelentései miatt Márki-Zay Péter". index.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  34. Botos, Tamás (13 March 2018). "Leszedették Márki-Zay migránsszámlálóját". 444.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  35. "Hódmezővásárhely települési választás eredményei". valasztas.hu (in Hungarian). 13 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  36. "Karácsony withdraws from opposition primary". Budapest Business Journal. 8 October 2021.
  37. Bayer, Lili (17 October 2021). "Conservative wins Hungarian opposition race to face Orbán in 2022". Politico.
  38. "Conservative mayor Marki-Zay wins run-off to challenge Hungary's Orban". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  39. "Péter Márki-Zay". POLITICO. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  40. Szakacs, Gergely (18 October 2021). "Hungary's new opposition PM candidate wants stronger ties with EU". Reuters. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  41. "Orbán rival promises new constitution if he defeats Hungary PM". the Guardian. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  42. 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.
  43. 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.
  44. "Márki-Zay Péter: Kanadai állampolgár is vagyok". 24.hu (in Hungarian). 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
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