Hungarian President Katalin Novak resigned following outrage over the pardon of a man convicted in a child abuse case.
Katalin Novak was the first female president of Hungary. She took over on March 10, 2022 and is a close ally of a conservative prime minister 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The role of the president in Hungary is ceremonial and the president has the power to pardon convicts. The controversy arose following the presidential pardon of a former deputy director of a children's home. He had helped cover up his boss's sexual abuse of the children in their care.
In an effort to control the damage, the prime minister introduced a constitutional amendment to parliament late on Thursday, stripping the president of the right to pardon crimes against children.
In April last year, she vetoed a controversial law passed by the National Assembly that was deemed discriminatory against LGBTQ people. Prime Minister Orban's government has been imposing strict regulations on LGBTQ rights for more than a decade.
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