Emmi’s former minister has served in the Dunamellék Reformed Church District for six years.

Zoltán Balog has been elected bishop of the Reformed Diocese of Dunamellék, the diocese’s electoral committee announced after the vote count on November 5. According to the Parókia.hu report, the reelected Sándor Veres will continue to hold the position of main guardian of the diocese. Balog and Veres’ term is also six years.

Two bishop candidates ran in the district elections. Péter Balla, former rector of the Károli Gáspár Reformed University, received 33.1 percent of the votes, 99 votes in number from the presbyteries. BalA, a former Human Resources minister and pastor of the German-speaking Reformed parish in Budapest, has 66.9 percent of the vote, with 200 votes. Sándor Veres and Levente Kovács, professors and general secretaries of the Banking Association, were appointed principal guardians of the diocese. Sándor Veres received 65.7 percent of the votes, 197 number votes, Levente Kovács 34.3 percent of the votes, 103 number votes.

A decree of the previous synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church said that a bishop can only be one who “has at least 10 years of continuous and independent pastoral service.” However, this was changed by the church in 2019, by removing the word “continuous” from the provision, so expectations had already passed to Balog.

In September, we wrote that Zoltán Balog had officially become a Reformed bishop. In relation to Balog, who resigned his parliamentary mandate after his ministry, he was treated as a finished fact in Reformed church circles, even after the next bishop election, he could be the successor of István Bogárdi Szabó, who resigned . Two days later, it turned out that the former head of the ministry could receive a counter-candidate in the person of Péter Balla.

Bishop Zoltán Balog may be a former minister

As the HVG previously wrote, Zoltán Balog, a former Human Resources minister, officially became a candidate for Reformed bishop on Friday. To this end, even the rules of the synod were amended earlier. It has happened that a bishop has become a minister, but conversely, as Zoltán Balog’s career is now seen, there has never been an example in the history of Hungary.

Zoltán Balog previously worked as a church policy adviser and later as an adviser to the Prime Minister. As of 2006, preserving his pastoral character, he suspended his pastoral service for 12 years due to being elected Member of Parliament.

Balog was pastor of the Reformed Church on Hold Street, and the congregation owes much to the government. In March 2002, Viktor Orbán donated a bell weighing more than 600 kilos to the congregation, and in 2016 they received a non-refundable grant of HUF 120 million from Erzsébet Utalványforgalmazó Zrt.

Since 2010 he was Secretary of State for Social Inclusion of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, from 2012 to 2018 he was the head of the Ministry of Human Resources, since 2003 he was general director of the Hungarian Civic Association, then president of the board.


The number of independent editorial boards of power is steadily declining, and those that still exist are trying to stay afloat in a growing headwind. At HVG we persevere, we do not give in to pressure and we bring national and international news every day.

That is why we ask you, our readers, to stand by us, support us, join our membership and renew it!

And we promise to keep doing our best for you in all circumstances!

Zoltán Balog positioned himself for the second time in favor of the hospital director fired by Kásler


hvg.hu
At home

The former minister said that it was important to preserve human dignity even in an emergency, but that the orders of the operational tribe must be followed.

Zoltán Balog: The opposition is better than before


hvg.hu
At home

The former minister of the Ministry of Human Resources read indignantly about the affairs of Zsolt Borkai.