Former Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó announced on Wednesday, 15 July, that he had submitted his resignation from Parliament after accepting a senior executive post at Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD.
Szijjártó said he was joining BYD’s international leadership, rather than its Hungarian subsidiary, as the executive responsible for the group’s external relations and new business development. He described the appointment as a ‘highly prestigious offer’ from a defining company of the global economy.
‘BYD is one of the greatest success stories in the automotive industry over the past 20 years. Starting today, I will continue my work as the executive responsible for the group’s external relations and the development of new business lines,’ he wrote on Facebook.
Under Hungary’s National Assembly Act, an MP’s mandate ends when a written resignation is submitted to the Speaker and requires no acceptance. Fidesz has not named his replacement and is expected to discuss the vacant list seat on 21 July.
Szijjártó had served as an MP since 2002. He was Fidesz’s communications director, former prime minister Viktor Orbán’s spokesperson and, from 2012, state secretary for foreign affairs and external economic relations. He served as foreign minister from September 2014 until Orbán’s government left office in May 2026, then remained an MP but rarely attended parliamentary votes.
As foreign minister, Szijjártó was a leading architect of Orbán’s ‘Eastern Opening’, and a promoter of closer Chinese economic ties and opposition to EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. In one of his earlier interviews, he said Hungary’s successful bid for BYD’s Szeged plant followed 224 negotiating rounds.
The factory, BYD’s first European passenger-car plant, is expected to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company is also establishing its European headquarters and an R&D centre in Budapest and operates an electric-bus plant in Komárom. The former government pledged HUF 20 billion for the Budapest project; incentives for the Szeged plant remain undisclosed.
Reacting to the announcement, Prime Minister Péter Magyar accused Szijjártó of having ‘long represented foreign interests’ and of previously lobbying for substantial state support for BYD. The appointment sparked significant outrage among critics of the former foreign minister, who alleged that the new position was a reward for advancing Chinese interests in Hungary and the EU while Szijjártó was in office.
Szijjártó’s resignation marks the end of a 24-year political career. However, its final chapter will probably not be remembered by him as a pleasant one. During the election campaign leading to the 12 April vote, investigative outlets accused Szijjártó of regularly briefing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on EU discussions, presenting leaked recordings of conversations between the two long-time colleagues linked to European decision-making on Ukraine and Russian sanctions. One of the recordings suggested that Szijjártó asked Lavrov for advice on the basis on which Hungary could veto the inclusion of certain Russian figures on the EU sanctions list.
Szijjártó denied improperly sharing confidential information, called the allegations ‘fake news’, and said contacts before and after EU meetings were a normal part of diplomacy.
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