View source for Ferenc Gyurcsány

{{Short description|Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009}}
{{Hungarian name|Gyurcsány Ferenc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}

{{POV|date=March 2024}}{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Ferenc Gyurcsány
| image               = Ferenc Gyurcsany 2012.jpg
| caption             = Gyurcsány in 2012
| order               = [[Prime Minister of Hungary]]
| president           = {{plainlist|
* [[Ferenc Mádl]]
* [[László Sólyom]]}}
| deputy              = 
| term_start          = 29 September 2004
| term_end            = 14 April 2009
| predecessor         = [[Péter Medgyessy]]
| successor           = [[Gordon Bajnai]]
| order1              = President of the [[Democratic Coalition (Hungary)|Democratic Coalition]]
| term_start1         = 22 October 2011
| term_end1           = 8 May 2025
| predecessor1        = ''Party established''
| successor1          = [[Klára Dobrev]]
| order2              = President of the [[Hungarian Socialist Party]]
| term_start2         = 27 February 2007
| term_end2           = 5 April 2009
| predecessor2        = [[István Hiller]]
| successor2          = [[Ildikó Lendvai]]
| order3              = [[Government of Hungary|Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports]]
| primeminister3      = [[Péter Medgyessy]]<br/>''Himself''
| deputy3             = 
| term_start3         = 19 May 2003
| term_end3           = 4 October 2004
| predecessor3        = [[György Jánosi]]
| successor3          = [[Kinga Göncz]]
| order4              = [[National Assembly (Hungary)|Member of the National Assembly]]
| term_start4         = 16 May 2006
| term_end4           = 9 May 2025
| constituency4       = National List
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1961|06|04|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Pápa]], [[People's Republic of Hungary|Hungary]]
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| spouse              = Beatrix Rozs (divorced)<br>{{marriage|Edina Bognár|1985||end=div}}<br>{{marriage|[[Klára Dobrev]]|1995|2025|end=separated}}
| children            = 5
| parents             = 
| party               = [[Democratic Coalition (Hungary)|DK]] (2011–)
| otherparty          = {{plainlist|
* [[Hungarian Young Communist League|KISZ]] (1980–1989)
* [[Hungarian Socialist Party|MSZP]] (2000–2011)}}
| alma_mater          = [[University of Pécs]]
| occupation          = {{hlist|[[Entrepreneur]]|[[Politician]]}}
}}
{{Ferenc Gyurcsány sidebar}}
'''Ferenc Gyurcsány''' ({{IPA|hu|ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈɟurt͡ʃaːɲ|lang|Hu-Ferenc_Gyurcsány.ogg}}; born 4 June 1961) is a Hungarian [[entrepreneur]] and retired politician who served as [[Prime Minister of Hungary]] from 2004 to 2009. Prior to that, he held the position of [[Government of Hungary|Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports]] between 2003 and 2004.

He was nominated as [[prime minister]] by the [[Hungarian Socialist Party]] (MSZP) on 25 August 2004, after [[Péter Medgyessy]] resigned due to a conflict with the Socialist Party's coalition partner. Gyurcsány was elected prime minister on 29 September 2004 in a parliamentary vote (197 yes votes, 12 no votes, with most of the opposition in [[National Assembly (Hungary)|Parliament]] not voting). He led his coalition to victory in the [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|2006 parliamentary election]], securing another term as prime minister.

On 24 February 2007, he was elected as the leader of the MSZP, winning 89% of the vote. On 21 March 2009, Gyurcsány announced his intention to resign as prime minister.<ref name="Hungary’s Premier Offers to Resign">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/world/22hungary.html?hp | work=The New York Times | title=Hungary's Premier Offers to Resign | first=Nicholas | last=Kulish | date=22 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="Hungarian PM offers to step down">{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/03/21/hungary.pm/index.html|title=Hungarian PM offers to step down|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="'Obstacle' Hungary PM to resign">{{cite news | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7956610.stm | work=BBC News | title='Obstacle' Hungary PM to resign | date=21 March 2009}}</ref> President [[László Sólyom]] stated that instead of a short-term government ruling only until the 2010 elections, early elections should be held.<ref name="pr">{{cite web|url=http://www.pr-inside.com/hungary-s-president-favors-early-elections-r1141169.htm|title=Free Services for PR :: News :: Press Releases|access-date=14 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229092805/http://www.pr-inside.com/hungary-s-president-favors-early-elections-r1141169.htm|archive-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> On 28 March 2009 Gyurcsány resigned from his position as party chairman.<ref name="budapesttimes">[http://www.budapesttimes.hu/content/view/11530/219/]{{dead link|date=September 2016}}</ref> A minister under Gyurcsány, [[Gordon Bajnai]], became the nominee of MSZP for the post of prime minister in March 2009<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123840402537769209|title=Hungary's Ruling Party Picks Premier|author=Edith Balazs|author2=Charles Forelle|date=31 March 2009|work=WSJ|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> and he became prime minister on 14 April.

In October 2011, Gyurcsány and other party members quit the MSZP to establish the [[Democratic Coalition (Hungary)|Democratic Coalition]] (DK) under his leadership. In May 2025, he announced his resignation from the leadership of the party, and also his retirement from politics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Albert |first=Gazda |date=2025-05-08 |title=Gyurcsány Ferenc mindenről lemond és visszavonul a közélettől |url=https://444.hu/2025/05/08/gyurcsany-ferenc-mindenrol-lemond-es-visszavonul-a-kozelettol |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=444 |language=hu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-08 |title=Véget ér egy korszak: lemondott és visszavonul Gyurcsány Ferenc |url=https://mfor.hu/cikkek/kozelet/veget-er-egy-korszak-lemondott-es-visszavonul-gyurcsany-ferenc.html |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=mfor.hu - Menedzsment Fórum |language=hu}}</ref>

==Early years==
Gyurcsány was born in [[Pápa]], Hungary, into an impoverished middle-class family as the only son of Ferenc Gyurcsány Sr. and Katalin Varga.

He has an elder sister, Éva. According to contemporary police documents, Gyurcsány's father was convicted on charges of minor crimes (low value thefts and fraud) multiple times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stop.hu/articles/article.php?id=241488|title=Sztрrklikk - A blog magazin|website=Stop.hu|access-date=11 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913060343/http://www.stop.hu/articles/article.php?id=241488|archive-date=13 September 2010}}</ref> 

Gyurcsány attended Apáczai Csere János High School in Budapest for two years; he then returned to Pápa, Hungary and continued his studies there, at a local grammar school.

In 1979, he was admitted to the [[University of Pécs]], where he studied as a teacher and obtained his B.Sc. in 1984, then he studied [[economics]] at the same institution, getting his degree in 1990.

In 1981, he assumed function in the KISZ, the [[Organisation of Young Communists]], where he mostly handled organizing student programs at the beginning. Between 1984 and 1988, he was the vice president of the organisation's committee in [[Pécs]]. Then between 1988 and 1989, he was the president of the central KISZ committee of universities and colleges. After the political change in 1989, he became vice-president of the organisation's short-lived quasi successor, the [[Hungarian Democratic Youth Association]] (DEMISZ).

From 1990 onwards, he transferred from the public to the private sector. Gyurcsány then took the position of CEO at Altus Ltd., a holding company of which he was owner, from 1992 to 2002 and thereafter as chairman of the board.<ref name=JOBS>{{cite web |url=http://www.hungria.org.br/CV_Gyurcsany.htm |title=CV Prime Minister of Hungary |access-date=6 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825071116/http://www.hungria.org.br/CV_Gyurcsany.htm |archive-date=25 August 2006 }}</ref> By 2002, he was listed as the fiftieth-richest person in Hungary.<ref name=RICH>{{cite web|url=http://www.origo.hu/uzletinegyed/hirek/2002111541tol.html |title=41-tõl 60-ig |website=Origo.hu |date=15 November 2002 |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref>

==Return to politics==
Gyurcsány returned to politics in 2002 as the head strategic advisor of [[Péter Medgyessy]], the previous [[Prime Minister of Hungary|prime minister of Hungary]]. From May 2003 until September 2004 Gyurcsány was a [[Political minister|minister]] responsible for sports, youth and children.

He became the president of the MSZP in [[Győr-Moson-Sopron]] [[Counties of Hungary|county]] in January 2004, serving until September 2004. In the summer of that same year it seemed that there were larger problems in his relationship with Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy, so he resigned as minister. In a week, problems in the coalition led to the resignation of Medgyessy, and MSZP voted Gyurcsány to become prime minister as he was acceptable for the coalition partner, [[Alliance of Free Democrats]] (SZDSZ).

==Prime minister== 
{{Further|First Gyurcsány Government|Second Gyurcsány Government}}
{{Infobox administration
| image = Ferenc Gyurcsány, Davos 2 (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = 
| name = Premiership of Ferenc Gyurcsány
| term_start = 29 September 2004
| term_end = 14 April 2009
| president = [[Ferenc Mádl]]<br>[[László Sólyom]]
| cabinet = [[First Gyurcsány Government]]<br>[[Second Gyurcsány Government]]
| party = [[Hungarian Socialist Party|MSZP]]
| election = [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|2006]]
| predecessor = [[Péter_Medgyessy#Prime_Minister_of_Hungary|Péter Medgyessy]]
| successor = [[Gordon_Bajnai#Prime_minister|Gordon Bajnai]]
}}
[[File:GyurcsanyBush2005.jpg|thumb|Gyurcsány with U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] in Washington, D.C., 7 October 2005]] 
Gyurcsány was reappointed as prime minister after the [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|2006 parliamentary elections]], with his coalition taking 210 of the available 386 parliamentary seats, and making him the first Hungarian prime minister to keep the office after a general election since 1990.

On 24 February 2007, he also became the leader of his party (being the only candidate for the post), gaining 89% of the votes.

However, soon after the election victory serious financial problems arose. His government was forced to implement austerity measures to somehow manage the budget deficit, which was much higher than expected and had grown to an almost 10% of the GDP by the end of 2006. These measures were heavily criticized by both the opposition, led by [[Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union|Fidesz]], as being too harsh on the people, and by liberal economists, for not reducing spending enough on social benefits, including pensions.

=== The Őszöd Speech and the resulting protests===

{{Main|Őszöd speech|2006 protests in Hungary}}
On 17 September 2006, an audio recording surfaced, allegedly from a closed-door meeting of the Prime Minister's party MSZP, held on 26 May 2006, shortly after MSZP won the election. On the [[Ferenc Gyurcsány's speech in Balatonőszöd in 2006 May|recording]], Gyurcsány admitted "we have obviously been lying for the last one and a half to two years."  ("''Nyilvánvalóan végighazudtuk az utolsó másfél-két évet''."). Despite public outrage, the Prime Minister refused to resign, and a series of demonstrations started near the [[Hungarian Parliament]], swelling from 2,000 to about 8,000 demonstrators calling for the resignation of Gyurcsány and his government for several weeks. The Prime Minister admitted the authenticity of the recording.<ref name=UNREST>{{cite web|author=Ugró Miklós |url=http://www.hirtv.hu/?tPath=/belfold/&article_hid=115874 |title=HírTV - Hír TV |website=Hirtv.hu |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Gyurcsany Ferenc-mszp-2.jpg|thumb|Gyurcsány at the Socialist Party's congress]]
On 1 October, the governing party suffered a landslide defeat in the [[2006 Hungarian local elections|local municipal elections]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.valasztas.hu/outroot/onkdina/g12.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=4 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004406/http://www.valasztas.hu/outroot/onkdina/g12.htm |archive-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> On the eve of the elections, before the results were known, President [[László Sólyom]] gave a speech in which he said that the solution to the situation is in the hands of the majority in Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://index.hu/politika/belfold/soly1001/ |title=Index - Belföld - Sólyom: Most az Országgyűlésnek van cselekvési lehetősége |website=Index.hu |date=1 January 1999 |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref>

===Vote of confidence===
As Prime Minister, Gyurcsány was a strong advocate of the [[South Stream|South Stream pipeline project]], which aimed to supply Russian gas directly to the [[European Union]] (EU), bypassing transit countries such as Ukraine. He signed the contract in Moscow just a week before the popular election in Hungary, which showed around 80% of the votes were against the government reforms.

On 6 October 2006, Gyurcsány won a vote of confidence in Parliament, 207–165, with no coalition MP voting against him. The vote was public.<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/853cdd38-55a0-11db-acba-0000779e2340 Gyurcsany wins vote of confidence], ''[[Financial Times]]'', 6 October 2006.</ref>

===Resignation===
On 21 March 2009, Gyurcsány announced his intention to resign as prime minister.<ref name="Hungary’s Premier Offers to Resign"/><ref name="Hungarian PM offers to step down"/> He stated that he was a hindrance to further economic and social reforms.<ref name="'Obstacle' Hungary PM to resign"/> Gyurcsány asked his party to find a new candidate for prime minister in two weeks.<ref>[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ia84yEP9jDmntQwdHNNV7NnsG9KwD972C81G0]{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> President [[László Sólyom]] stated that instead of a short-term transactional government ruling only until the 2010 elections, early elections should be held.<ref name="pr"/> In the search for a new prime minister, [[György Surányi]] became the frontrunner candidate for the post; however, on 26 March he pulled out of the race.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSLQ97333420090326 |work=Reuters |title=SCENARIOS-What next as Hungary seeks new prime minister? |date=26 March 2009}}</ref> On 28 March, Gyurcsány resigned from his position as party chairman.<ref name="budapesttimes"/>

==Career after premiership==
[[File:Ferenc.gyurcsany.2015(cropped).jpg|180px|thumb|Gyurcsány in 2015]]
In the 2010 parliamentary elections he was elected into the Parliament still as a member of MSZP, but he became more and more critical of the party's politics. Since his attempts at reforming the party failed, he left MSZP and founded a new party, the [[Democratic Coalition (Hungary)|Democratic Coalition]] ''(Demokratikus Koalíció, DK)'' in October 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20111106-gyurcsanyt-valasztotta-partelnoknek-a-demokratikus-koalicio.html |title=Gyurcsαnyt vαlasztotta pαrtelnφknek a Demokratikus Koalνciσ |website=Origo.hu |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> As a leader of DK, he announced that his party would support Gordon Bajnai as a candidate for prime minister in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stop.hu/belfold/gyurcsany-bajnai-gordon-legyen-a-demokratikus-ellenzek-miniszterelnok-jeloltje/1093546/|title=Gyurcsány: Bajnai Gordon legyen a demokratikus ellenzék miniszterelnök-jelöltje!|work=STOP|access-date=14 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214230845/http://www.stop.hu/belfold/gyurcsany-bajnai-gordon-legyen-a-demokratikus-ellenzek-miniszterelnok-jeloltje/1093546/|archive-date=14 February 2015}}</ref>

In September 2012, the ruling [[Fidesz]] proposed a voter-registration plan, which, according to the opposition, "would have restricted the right to vote". Gyurcsány and three other members of his party participated in a week-long [[hunger strike]] against the proposal.<ref>[http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20120909-gyurcsany-ferenc-egyhetes-ehsegsztrajkba-kezd-a-kossuth-teren.html Gyurcsány Ferenc egyhetes éhségsztrájkba kezd a Kossuth téren] – Origo, 2012. 09. 09.</ref> Later, in January 2013, the [[Constitutional Court of Hungary]] struck down the new electoral law as unconstitutional; after that decision, Fidesz caucus dropped the law.<ref>[http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20130104-az-alkotmanybirosag-dontese-a-valasztasi-feliratkozasrol.html Alkotmányellenes a választási regisztráció] – Origo, 2013. január 4.</ref> Gyurcsány referred to that act as his party's success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demokratikuskoalicio.hu/index.php/2011-12-05-15-42-05/ajanlottblogok/3965-erlauer-gyurcsany-ferenc-nagy-sikere |title=www.demokratikuskoalicio.hu powered by Domain Technologie Control (DTC) |access-date=14 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306065423/http://www.demokratikuskoalicio.hu/index.php/2011-12-05-15-42-05/ajanlottblogok/3965-erlauer-gyurcsany-ferenc-nagy-sikere |archive-date=6 March 2016 }}</ref>

On 14 January 2014, the Democratic Coalition and four other groups founded [[Unity (Hungary)|Unity]], a political alliance with the aim of defeating Fidesz at the elections in the spring. The alliance made it into the Parliament, but only as opposition. DK won only four seats, which meant that since they were below the minimum requirements of forming a parliamentary group (five seats), its MPs (including Gyurcsány) officially count as independent politicians.

On 8 April 2018, the Democratic Coalition won nine seats, creating now a political group in the National Assembly.

In the 2019 European elections, his party got 16% of the vote and became the largest opposition party until the 2024 European elections.

On 8 May 2025, Gyurcsány announced that he would resign from the leadership of the Democratic Coalition and from his seat in parliament, and would retire from politics.<ref name=":0" />

==Personal life==
[[File:Ferenc Gyurcsany cc.jpg|200px|thumb|Gyurcsány at a music festival in Q&A.]]
Gyurcsány has been married three times. He has two sons from his second marriage with Edina Bognár, and three children<ref>[http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20150219-megszuletett-gyurcsany-ferenc-kisfia.html Megszületett Gyurcsány Ferenc kisfia], Origo, 19 February 2015.</ref> from his third marriage. His spouse was [[Klára Dobrev]], whose maternal grandfather [[Antal Apró]] was Hungary's Minister of Industry in the 1950s–60s. In May 2025, the couple announced their divorce.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Népszava |title=Minden tisztségéről lemond és visszavonul Gyurcsány Ferenc, válik Dobrev Klárától |url=https://nepszava.hu/3278913_gyurcsany-ferenc-dobrev-klara-demokratikus-koalicio-valas |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Népszava |language=hu}}</ref>

He got his nickname "Fletó"<ref group="i">Not to be confused with the Spanish word fleto.</ref> from his elementary school Russian language teacher. <ref>[https://www.blikk.hu/aktualis/politika/majdnem-kicsaptak-a-kis-fletot-a-gimibol/rjee6dy], Blikk, 12 February 2011.</ref>

==Criticism==
===Wealth===
The origin of Gyurcsány's wealth was regularly questioned by the media and the [[Fidesz]] opposition at the time. In 2006 the weekly paper ''[[Heti Világgazdaság|HVG]]'' wrote about a biography of Gyurcsány: "[it] concludes that talent played a greater role than corruption in Gyurcsány's success. We have to question this claim. Not just because former functionaries are massively overrepresented among Gyurcsány's business partners, but also because, despite his enormous talent for business, Gyurcsány would never have got where he is today without making use of the contacts and support base of the former state party."<ref name=CORRUPT>{{cite web |url=http://hvg.hu/english/20060619gyurcsanybioeng.aspx |title=English version: Not as good as the Orban |website=HVG.hu |date=19 June 2006 |access-date=11 September 2016 |archive-date=16 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116035533/http://hvg.hu/english/20060619gyurcsanybioeng.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> József Debreczeni, the biographer in question, originally reached the conclusion "regarding party connections and performance, the latter has been more important".<ref>{{cite book |last=Debreczeni |first=József |title= Az új miniszterelnök (The New Prime Minister)  |publisher= Osiris Kiadó |year= 2006 |isbn= 963-389-844-7 |language=hu}}</ref>

In 2005, MP [[Péter Szijjártó]] (of [[Fidesz]], an opposition party at that time), as the head of a committee set up to investigate the origins of Gyurcsány's wealth, stated in his report that one of Gyurcsány's companies leased the former vacation site of the Hungarian government in Balatonőszöd and rented the site back to a state-owned company so that the rent paid by the government covered exactly the leasing fee during the first two and a half years of the ten-year lease term (1994–2004).<ref name=CORRUPT2>{{cite web|url=http://index.hu/politika/belfold/gya6967/ |title=Index - Belföld - Szijjártó tíz tétele Gyurcsány gazdagodásáról |website=Index.hu |date=8 November 2005 |access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref>

A person named "Gyurcsányi" was mentioned by [[Attila Kulcsár]], the main defendant in a high-profile "K&H Equities" money laundering scandal in Hungary.<ref name=SCANDAL>[http://www.pestiside.hu/archives/nerves_shredded_over_scandal_evidence_shredding000808.php Nerves Shredded Over Scandal Evidence Shredding] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508185125/http://www.pestiside.hu/archives/nerves_shredded_over_scandal_evidence_shredding000808.php |date=8 May 2006 }} Pestiside.hu</ref> The prime minister denied he had any connections with the case.

===Plagiarism controversy===
{{Main|Ferenc Gyurcsány plagiarism controversy}}
In an article published on 2 April 2012, ''Pécsi Újság'' called into question whether Gyurcsány submitted a diploma thesis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pecsiujsag.hu/pecs/hir/helyi-hireink/terjed-hogy-gyurcsany-pecsi-szakdolgozata-sincs-rendben-de-a-pte-nem-adhat-ki-adatot---video|title=Pécsi Újság - Helyi híreink - Terjed, hogy Gyurcsány pécsi szakdolgozata sincs rendben, de a PTE nem adhat ki adatot - VIDEÓ|work=Pécsi Újság|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> István Geresdi, [[Dean (education)|Dean]] of the Faculty of Sciences at the [[University of Pécs]] told ''Pécsi Újság'' that they were unable to find Gyurcsány's diploma thesis. He further added that Gyurcsány's thesis was the only missing work from that time period. On 3 April Gyurcsány published a page from his course record book that stated that he submitted and defended a college thesis.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=379552925410509 |title=Ez is egy szakdolgozat értékelés &#124; Facebook |website=[[Facebook]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731054747/http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=379552925410509 |archive-date=31 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He also stated that he did not know where his own copy of his thesis was, but he would make efforts to locate and publish it. After two weeks, on 13 April he announced that he failed to find his copy of the thesis.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=385994531433015|title=Érettségim sincs?|website=[[Facebook]]|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> On 27 April ''[[Hír TV]]'', a government-leaning television channel announced that they have found evidence that Szabolcs Rozs, who was Gyurcsány's brother-in-law in 1984, submitted a college thesis at the same college and department as Gyurcsány, with a title identical to Gyurcsány's work, in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mno.hu/belfold/plagium-gyanujaban-gyurcsany-1071944|title=Plágium gyanújában Gyurcsány|work=mno.hu|access-date=14 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214235201/http://mno.hu/belfold/plagium-gyanujaban-gyurcsany-1071944|archive-date=14 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Three days later, on 30 April ''Hír Tv'' announced that they have located and compared the reviews of both Rozs's and Gyurcsány's work, and found that based on the common errors and omissions, the two texts are likely to be identical, supporting the allegations of plagiarism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mno.hu/belfold/bebukta-gyurcsany-ferenc-plagizalt-video-1072270|title=Bebukta: Gyurcsány Ferenc plagizált + Videó|work=mno.hu|access-date=14 February 2015|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215175115/https://mno.hu/belfold/bebukta-gyurcsany-ferenc-plagizalt-video-1072270|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Other===

On 2 September 2004, he said in the [[m1 (TV channel)|Hungarian national television]]: "Who has a two-room-apartment, would in general deserve three; who has three, four; who has four, a house. Who has an eld..., olderly, elderly?... olderly ''[struggling with an unintended [[portmanteau]]]'' wife, a younger one; who has a badly behaved kid, a well-behaved. Of course, he would deserve."<ref>Original Hungarian text: ''Akinek kétszobás lakása van, az általában megérdemelne hármat, akinek három, az négyet, akinek négy, az egy családi házat. Akinek öreged..., öregecskedő, öregeskedő?... öregecskedő felesége, az fiatalabbat, akinek rendetlen gyereke, az rendesebbet. Persze, hogy megérdemelné.'' See video at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKM0DmfbAgk YouTube]</ref> This triggered outrage from feminist organisations, women in general, and the opposition.<ref>[http://index.hu/belfold/noi1014r/ Index.hu] – ''Felháborodtak az asszonyok Gyurcsány kijelentésén'' (Women outraged at Gyurcsány's statement) 14 September 2004.</ref><ref>[http://index.hu/belfold/hirek/193249/ Index.hu] – ''Áder bocsánatkérésre szólítja fel Gyurcsányt'' ([[János Áder|Áder]] calls on Gyurcsány to apologize), 11 September 2004.</ref>

On 2 February 2005, at the birthday party of the [[Hungarian Socialist Party]], for the sake of a joke, Gyurcsány referred to the players of the [[Saudi Arabia national football team|Saudi national football team]] as terrorists. Later he apologized, but the kingdom recalled its ambassador from Hungary for a time.<ref name="szaudi">{{cite web|url=http://index.hu/politika/belfold/szaud0211/|title=Index - Belföld - Jegyzékben tiltakoznak 'a szaúdi terroristák' Gyurcsánynál|date=11 February 2005|access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref><ref name=JOKE>{{cite web|url=http://www.magyarhirlap.hu/Archivum_cikk.php?cikk%3D92593%26archiv%3D1%26next%3D0 |title=Magyar Hírlap |access-date=6 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009035219/http://www.magyarhirlap.hu/Archivum_cikk.php?cikk=92593&archiv=1&next=0 |archive-date=9 October 2007 }}</ref>

During the 2006 general election campaign, a video appeared where Gyurcsány danced as [[Hugh Grant]] in ''[[Love Actually]]''.<ref name=DANCE>{{cite web|url=http://home.eircom.net/content/reuters/uNews/7379070?view%3DStandard |title=Eircom net Ireland-International / Irish news headlines from leading Irish newspapers |access-date=11 February 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008230926/http://home.eircom.net/content/reuters/uNews/7379070?view=Standard |archive-date=8 October 2006 }}</ref> According to government officials, the spokesperson of the government asked Gyurcsány to dance, as they re-made most parts of the film as a special gift for the wedding of spokesman [[András Batiz]]. Opposition claimed that the video was made public on purpose, as part of the election campaign, to gain popularity for the PM among young adults.

After his return to politics, Gyurcsány was at first tight-lipped on his religious affiliation, leading many to assume that he is an [[atheist]]. In an interview aired on TV2 during the 2006 parliamentary election campaign, Gyurcsány said that as a teenager, he "took part in [[confirmation]] for about two years" and even considered becoming a [[priest]].<ref name="mokka">"Mokka", TV2, 26 March 2006.</ref> Since confirmation can only be taken once, some regarded this claim as a giveaway that he was not telling the truth, while others such as Catholic bishop Endre Gyulay supposed he meant he took part in preparations for a confirmation.<ref name="kurir">[http://www.magyarkurir.hu/?m_op=view&id=9533&rovat=4 Napi sajtószemle], Magyar Kurír, 28 March 2006 {{in lang|hu}}</ref>

In connection with the unrest fuelled by his speech, he has been criticised in ''[[The Economist]]'' for "turning a blind eye to police brutality".<ref>[http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/europeview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8491837 Europe.view], ''[[The Economist]]'', 4 January 2007.</ref>

On 13 January 2009, [[Dominique Strauss-Kahn]], the managing director of the [[International Monetary Fund]], travelled to Budapest to ask Gyurcsány about their agreement made in October, regarding the stabilization of Hungarian government spending.

His legitimacy was often questioned by opposition parties based on his withholding of information about the actual budget deficit in his 2006 re-election campaign.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bizottsági vita a 2006-os államháztartási adatokról - MR1-Kossuth Rádió |url=http://www.mr1-kossuth.hu/hirek/itthon/a-ksh-adatszolgaltatasarol-targyal-a-koltsegvetesi-bizottsag.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203205037/http://www.mr1-kossuth.hu/hirek/itthon/a-ksh-adatszolgaltatasarol-targyal-a-koltsegvetesi-bizottsag.html |archive-date=3 February 2010 |access-date=26 February 2010}}</ref>

===Russia Pipeline===
[[File:Vladimir Putin 28 February 2008-5.jpg|260px|thumb|right|Gyurcsány (left) and [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]] (right) in February 2008]]
As a prime minister, Gyurcsány was said to be an advocate of the South Stream pipeline project, which is aimed to supply Russian gas directly to the EU, bypassing transit countries such as Ukraine. He signed the contract in Moscow just week before a referendum in Hungary, which showed around 80% of the votes were against the government reforms.<ref name=schroder>[http://www.mn.mno.hu/portal/549993 Magyar Nemzet: "Gyurcsány elindult a schröderi úton?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721111804/http://www.mn.mno.hu/portal/549993 |date=21 July 2011 }}, 21 March 2008.</ref> However, the questions of the referendum (two concerning health care and one concerning education) had no relation to the issue of possible pipelines built in the country. Gyurcsány stated that it is an unlucky situation for a country to have only one supplier (Russia) of any resource, which in this particular case is natural gas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vg.hu/vallalatok/energia/bolond-az-az-orszag-amelyik-attol-boldog-hogy-egy-eladoja-van-gyurcsany-az-energiaellatasrol-188190|title="Bolond az az ország, amelyik attól boldog, hogy egy eladója van" - Gyurcsány az energiaellátásról - Energia - Vállalatok - Világgazdaság Online|work=VG|date=14 September 2007 |access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> He said the [[South Stream]] pipeline only diversifies routes from the same source country. He also advocated the [[Nabucco pipeline]] which was planned to transfer gas from the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MEES |title=Russia And Serbia Follow Up South Stream Agreement, Hungary Joins Gazprom Project |url=https://www.zawya.com/en/business/russia-and-serbia-follow-up-south-stream-agreement-hungary-joins-gazprom-project-t0aqjvfz |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=www.zawya.com |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Notes==
<references group="i" />

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061008230926/http://home.eircom.net/content/reuters/uNews/7379070?view=Standard Hungarian PM appears on Internet as Hugh Grant]
* [http://portal.dkp.hu/ The page of the Demokratikus Koalíció party] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313162030/http://portal.dkp.hu/ |date=13 March 2019 }} {{in lang|hu}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040808020503/http://www.mszp.hu/index.php?gcPage=public%2Fportretar%2FmutatPortre&fnId=13425 His biography] {{in lang|hu}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050309142525/http://www.origo.hu/uzletinegyed/hirek/2002111541tol.html The 100 richest people in Hungary], 2002., origo.hu. ([http://www.origo.hu/uzletinegyed/hirek/20021115elso.html Original URL]) {{in lang|hu}}

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{{succession box
| title  = [[Government of Hungary|Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports]]
| before = [[György Jánosi]]
| years = 2003–2004
| after = [[Kinga Göncz]]
}}
{{succession box
| title  = [[Prime Minister of Hungary]]
| before = [[Péter Medgyessy]]
| years = 2004–2009
| after = [[Gordon Bajnai]]
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{{Succession box
| before = [[István Hiller]]
| title  = [[Hungarian Socialist Party|Chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party]]
| years = 2007–2009
| after  = [[Ildikó Lendvai]]
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{{s-non|reason=New political party}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Coalition (Hungary)|Chairman of the Democratic Coalition]]|years=2011–2025}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Klára Dobrev]]}}
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{{s-non|reason=New parliamentary group}}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the [[Democratic Coalition (Hungary)|DK]] parliamentary group|years=2018–2025}}
{{s-aft|after=[[László Sebián-Petrovszki]]}}
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