Zsolt Simon
{{Short description|Slovak politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Zsolt Simon (jan. 2012).jpg
| caption = Simon in 2012
| order =
| office = Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
| primeminister1 = Mikuláš Dzurinda
| termstart1 = 16 October 2002
| term_end1 = 4 July 2006
| predecessor1 = Pavol Koncoš
| successor1 = Miroslav Jureňa
| primeminister2 = Iveta Radičová
| termstart2 = 9 July 2010
| term_end2 = 4 April 2012
| predecessor2 = Vladimír Chovan
| successor2 = Ľubomír Jahnátek
| office3 = Member of the National Council
| termstart3 = 4 July 2006
| termend3 = 8 July 2010
| termstart4 = 4 April 2012
| termend4 = 20 March 2020
| signature =
| termend =
| party = Party of the Hungarian Coalition (1999-2009)
Most–Híd(2009-2016)
Hungarian Forum(2019-)
| education =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|8|26}}
| birth_place = Rimavská Sobota, Czechoslovakia
| website =
| children = 2
| alma_mater = Mendel University Brno
| occupation =
}}
Zsolt Simon (born 26 August 1970) is a Slovak politician. He served as the Minister of Agriculture from 2002 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2012. From 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2020 he was a Member of the National Council.
Early life
Simon was born in Rimavská Sobota. He is of Hungarian nationality. He studied agriculture at the Mendel University, graduating in 1993. Following graduation, he ran a farm and worked as a manager in Agriculture. In 1999, he joined the Party of the Hungarian Coalition.{{Cite web |date=2017-09-03 |title=Zsolt Simon: Fico zničí Bugára aj Danka, Kaliňák vie na každého niečo |url=https://dennikn.sk/869584/zsolt-simon-fico-znici-bugara-aj-danka-kalinak-vie-na-kazdeho-nieco/ |publisher=Denník N |language=}}
Political career
Following the 2002 Slovak parliamentary election, Simon won a mandate, which he did not take due to becoming a Minister of Agriculture in the Dzurinda's Second Cabinet.{{Cite web |title=Vláda SR od 16. 10. 2002 do 04. 07. 2006 {{!}} Úrad vlády SR |url=https://www.vlada.gov.sk/vlada-sr-od-16-10-2002-do-04-07-2006/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.vlada.gov.sk}} He was elected a Deputy again in the 2006 Slovak parliamentary election. While serving as an opposition MP, he left the Party of the Hungarian Coalition to co-found the Most–Híd party.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-06 |title=Most povedie Bugár |url=https://www.noviny.sk/slovensko/61198-most-povedie-bugar |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.noviny.sk |language=sk}} He was again elected in the 2010 Slovak parliamentary election, following which he again served as an Agriculture minister in the Radičová's Cabinet.{{Cite web |title=Vláda SR od 09. 07. 2010 do 04.04.2012 {{!}} Úrad vlády SR |url=https://www.vlada.gov.sk/vlada-sr-od-09-07-2010-do-04042012/?csrt=3991493284363955259 |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.vlada.gov.sk}} From 2012 to 2020 he was an opposition MP. Following the 2016 Slovak parliamentary election, he left the Most-Híd party due to his opposition to a coalition agreement with Direction – Slovak Social Democracy. In 2019 he established a new party Hungarian Forum, which failed to pass the representation threshold in the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election.{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Zsolt Simon zakladá novú stranu: Chceme alternatívu pre Maďarov |url=https://slovensko.hnonline.sk/1872016-zsolt-simon-zaklada-novu-stranu-chceme-alternativu-pre-madarov |publisher=Hospodárske noviny |language=sk}}
Personal life
References
{{reflist}}
{{Ministers of the Agriculture in Slovakia}}
{{Slovak government 2002-2006}}
{{Slovak government 2010-2014}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Zsolt}}
Category:Party of the Hungarian Community politicians
Category:Agriculture ministers of Slovakia
Category:People from Rimavská Sobota
Category:Hungarians in Slovakia
Category:Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2006-2010
Category:Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2012–2016
Category:Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2016–2020