Familiar Faces in a Wave of Ambassador Nominees, Is the EU Mission Chief’s Seat at Risk?

Hungary’s diplomatic reshuffle is bringing a series of familiar names back into view, with dozens of mission chiefs expected to change and questions emerging over who will represent the country abroad.

Historian Balázs Ablonczy could go to Paris after Miklós Tromler’s rapid removal following the change of government. Miklós Mitrovits, a Poland specialist seen as close to circles around Donald Tusk’s government, has been mentioned for Warsaw. Tamás Hajba is being considered for Beijing after working as an OECD China expert in Paris and serving as consul general in Chongqing in the 2000s.

Mátyás Bódi, a liberal-left-leaning election expert, reportedly requested Barcelona so he could replace tennis champion Balázs Taróczy as consul general. The mission’s website currently lists no head. Other new names have also reportedly emerged for posts in Zagreb, Skopje and Subotica.

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Some of the changes are linked to mandates coming to an end, while in other cases personnel decisions are justified by the aim of having ambassadors represent and serve Hungary’s interests credibly and effectively in line with the new foreign-policy priorities.

The Foreign Ministry says some appointments will change because mandates are expiring. In other cases, it says Hungary needs ambassadors who can credibly and effectively represent its interests under new foreign-policy priorities. The ministry says it is also developing a strategic framework to adjust Hungary’s international room for manoeuvre and foreign-policy goals to a changed geopolitical reality.

The case of Bence Szabó has added an unusual element to the reshuffle. The two-time Olympic fencing champion told Index that the previous Hungarian government nominated him for Havana and that Cuba had granted the customary diplomatic approval. The ministry later dropped him without explanation and extended the posting of the ambassador already in Havana, Balázs Heincz, for another year. In response to 444.hu, the ministry offered only that it was reshaping missions and building a highly professional diplomatic corps. A government document prepared for the next U.N. General Assembly session states that Russia’s conduct constitutes a threat and points toward alignment with the Western mainstream.

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The transformation of the work of diplomatic missions and the building of a professional diplomatic corps operating at a high professional standard are under way.