Katalin Novak: Hungary President Who Quit Over Sex Abuse Pardon Scandal

Hungary President Katalin Novak resigned after an outrage over granting a pardon to a man convicted in a child sex abuse case.

Katalin Novak was the first female President of Hungary. She took over the office on March 10, 2022, and is a close ally of a conservative Prime Minister who is facing European parliament elections.

Ms Novak completed her university studies in Budapest and Paris on a scholarship. She is an economist. The former President started her career in 2001 at the foreign ministry.

The role of the President in Hungary is ceremonial and the President has the power to grant pardon to convicts.

The controversy sparked after the Presidential pardon of a former deputy director of a children’s home. He had helped to cover up his boss’s sexual abuse of the children in their charge.

In a bid to control the damage, the Prime Minister submitted a constitutional amendment to parliament late on Thursday depriving the president of the right to pardon crimes committed against children.

In April last year, she vetoed a controversial law passed by the National Assembly, which was considered discriminatory toward LGBTQ people. Prime Minister Orban’s government has been clamping down on LGBTQ rights for over a decade.