Global General

Schmitt elected Hungarian president

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-30 00:18

Current speaker of the Hungarian Parliament Pal Schmitt, center, candidate of the ruling Fidesz, the Hungarian Civic Alliance Party swears in after being elected President of Hungary by MPs in the Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, June 29, 2010. Parliament has elected Pal Schmitt as Hungary's new president, replacing Laszlo Solyom whose five-year term ends in August. [Agencies]

BUDAPEST - Hungary's parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly elected its current speaker Pal Schmitt as the country's new president.

Schmitt, a two-time Olympic fencing champion and an economist by profession, took his oath of office immediately after the vote. He will replace current president Laszlo Solyom early August.

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The president-elect was born on May 13, 1942, in Budapest. He won an Olympic gold medal for his country in 1968 in Mexico and another in 1972 in Munich.

On Tuesday's voting, he received 263 ballots in the 386-member parliament, all from lawmakers from his Fidesz party, while Andras Balogh, his sole opponent, received 59 votes.

Schmitt had served as Hungary's ambassador to Spain and Switzerland and was a vice president of the European Parliament.

Some analysts suggest that Schmitt's strong commitment to the Fidesz party could weaken the role of the presidency, which though largely ceremonial, does give the president the power to make appointments and to return bills to parliament for reconsideration and otherwise delay legislation.

While politicians with strong party affiliations have been elected president in the past, once elected a president is required to cast aside party ties and act independently.

Schmitt has said he would resign from the Fidesz party to satisfy that requirement. He has also said he wants to be an engine of legislative change and to support parliament. He promised to cooperate with everybody and listen to different opinions.