Anna Donáth Explained

Anna Donáth
Birth Date:6 April 1987
Birth Place:Budapest, Hungary
Honorific Suffix:MEP
Parliament:European
Party:Momentum (since 2016)
Termstart:2 July 2019[1]
Alma Mater:
Office:Member of the European Parliament
Constituency:Hungary
Office2:Leader of Momentum Movement
Termstart2:21 November 2021
Predecessor2:Anna Orosz (interim)
Successor2:Ferenc Gelencsér
Termend2:29 May 2022
Children:1

Anna Júlia Donáth (born 6 April 1987) is a Hungarian politician. She was elected as a Momentum Movement (part of the Renew Europe group) Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the 2019 European Parliament election. Donáth was the leader of the party between 21 November 2021 and 29 May 2022.

Early life and career

Donáth was born on 6 April 1987 in Budapest, Hungary, to László Donáth and Ildikó Muntag.[2] She is the youngest of three siblings. Her father is a former pastor and former member of parliament for the Hungarian Socialist Party.[3] Her paternal grandfather, Ferenc Donáth, is of Jewish descent, and was a lawyer and one of the three secretaries of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Donáth's early education was at Veres Péter High School in Békásmegyer, Budapest.[7] She studied sociology at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and migration and ethnic studies at the University of Amsterdam.[8] After graduating, she completed an internship at the European Commission, before returning to Hungary to become a project manager for the non-governmental organization (NGO), Menedék.[4] [8] She joined the Momentum Movement in 2016, and became its vice president in June 2018.[9] [10] Donáth was a candidate for the centrist party in the 2018 Hungarian parliamentary election.[11] The party did not win any seats in the election.[12]

In December 2018, Donáth participated in a protest against the Hungarian government's new labour law dubbed by opponents as "the slave law", which raised the overtime yearly cap for workers from 250 to 400 hours, and allowed businesses three years instead of one year to pay for the overtime.[13] Donáth was arrested at the protest, and later released.[14]

European Parliament

Donáth stood as a candidate for Momentum Movement in the 2019 European Parliament election in Hungary. She was second on her party's list, and was elected as one of its two MEPs (the other being Katalin Cseh) in Hungary.[15] [16] She represents the third generation of her family to enter political office (after her father and her paternal grandfather).[17] In the European Parliament, Donáth is a member of the Renew Europe party group. She serves on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. In this capacity, she is also member of the Democracy, Rule of Law & Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group.[18] In 2022, she joined the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware.[19] [20] In addition to her committee assignments, Donáth is part of the parliament's delegation to the European Union–Albania Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance,[21] and the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights.[22]

After becoming an MEP, Donáth gained immunity from prosecution for her participation in the December 2018 labour law protest, however Donáth chose to waive it on 29 May 2019.[23] Donáth was elected leader of the Momentum Movement on 21 November 2021. She acquired 56.6 percent of the vote, defeating Anna Orosz (28.9%) and Gábor Hollai (14.5%).[24] Following the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election, where the opposition alliance United for Hungary, including Momentum, suffered a heavy defeat, Donáth announced on 9 May 2022 that she was pregnant and would not stand for the party's renewal election. She was succeeded by Ferenc Gelencsér.[25] Ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election in Hungary, which would hold its six-month European Union presidency from July 2024, she was considered among the MEPs to watch and described as one of "the most prominent Orbán opposers in the Parliament".[26]

Recognition

In December 2020, Donáth received an award at The Parliament Magazines annual MEP Awards for best use of Social Media.[27]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Key dates ahead. European Parliament. 28 May 2019. en. 20 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20190525003255/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/elections-press-kit/0/key-dates-ahead. 25 May 2019. live.
  2. Web site: Anna Júlia Donáth. European Parliament. 25 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190825144109/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/197595/ANNA%2BJULIA_DONATH/home. 25 August 2019. live.
  3. Web site: Donáth László. National Assembly. 27 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190825144109/https://www.parlament.hu/kepviselo/elet/d184.htm. 25 August 2019. live.
  4. News: New generation taps Hungary's protest tradition to take on Orbán. The Irish Times. 24 December 2018. 25 August 2019. McLaughlin. Daniel. https://web.archive.org/web/20181224041840/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/new-generation-taps-hungary-s-protest-tradition-to-take-on-orb%C3%A1n-1.3740902. 24 December 2018. live.
  5. Web site: Ferenc Donath. Garden of the Righteous Worldwide. 27 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190825144123/https://en.gariwo.net/righteous/the-righteous-biographies/dissent-in-eastern-europe/exemplary-figures-reported-by-gariwo/ferenc-donath-7646.html. 25 August 2019. live.
  6. Web site: The Revolt in Hungary. Central Intelligence Agency. 27 August 2019. 7. PDF. https://web.archive.org/web/20190827113233/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80B01676R004000170003-9.pdf. 27 August 2019. dead.
  7. Web site: 1997–2005 b. Veres Péter High School. 27 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090217/https://verespg.hu/osztalyok/1997-2005-b. 27 March 2019. live.
  8. Web site: We are Europe. PDF. 8. Union of European Federalists. 27 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190827101357/https://www.federalists.eu/fileadmin/files_uef/Events/2018/We_re_Europe_2018_Edition_1/Citizens__Agora_Folder_20190221.pdf. 27 August 2019. live.
  9. Web site: 'Hirtelen találtam egy közösséget' – teltházas bemutatkozót tartott a Momentum. Szeretlek Magyarország. hu. 22 January 2017. 27 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190827124555/https://www.szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu/telthazas-bemutatkozot-tartott-a-momentum/. 27 August 2019. live.
  10. Web site: Női alelnöke lett a Momentumnak. Index. 14 June 2018. 27 August 2019. Mátyás. Domschitz. hu. https://web.archive.org/web/20180615061318/https://index.hu/belfold/2018/06/14/noi_alelnoke_lett_a_momentumnak/. 15 June 2018. live.
  11. Web site: hu. Budapest főváros 10.számú egyéni választókerület (Budapest III. kerület) eredménye. National Election Office. 8 April 2018. 27 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190827101357/https://static.valasztas.hu/dyn/pv18/szavossz/hu/M01/E10/evkjkv.html. 27 August 2019. live.
  12. Web site: Hungarian political party offers punching bags for Budapest residents as part of election campaign. Euronews. 21 June 2019. 27 August 2019. Mortimer. Caroline. https://web.archive.org/web/20190827101355/https://www.euronews.com/2019/06/21/hungarian-political-party-offers-punching-bags-for-budapest-residents-as-part-of-election. 27 August 2019. live.
  13. News: What Is Hungary's 'Slave Law,' and Why Has It Provoked Opposition?. The New York Times. 22 December 2018. 25 August 2019. Karasz. Palko. Kingsley. Patrick. https://web.archive.org/web/20190530053906/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/22/world/europe/hungary-slave-law.html. 30 May 2019. live.
  14. News: Women in Hungary lead charge in pushback against Orban. Financial Times. 21 December 2018. 25 August 2019. Hopkins. Valerie. https://web.archive.org/web/20190825144110/https://www.ft.com/content/0a3984ba-050b-11e9-99df-6183d3002ee1. 25 August 2019. live.
  15. Web site: Két női listavezetővel indul az EP-választáson a Momentum. 444. 22 December 2018. 25 August 2019. Juli. Boros. hu. https://web.archive.org/web/20190320201536/https://444.hu/2018/12/22/ket-noi-listavezetovel-indul-az-ep-valasztason-a-momentum. 20 March 2019. live.
  16. News: An NBA star, a TV chef and a comedian: meet some of the new MEPs. Oltermann. Walker. Giuffrida. Angela. Shaun. Philip. The Guardian. 27 May 2019. 25 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190901202927/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/27/nba-star-a-tv-chef-and-a-sad-comic-meet-some-of-europes-new-meps-europe-eu-elections. 1 September 2019. live.
  17. Web site: hu. Donáth László és Donáth Anna: A mi családunkban nem armageddon, ha bevisznek a rendőrök. 168 Óra. 2 May 2019. 31 August 2019. Cseri. Péter.
  18. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/214942/LIBE%20DFRMG%20-%20Members.pdf Democracy, Rule of Law & Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group, 2019–2024
  19. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sedcms/documents/PRIORITY_INFO/558/Composition%20nominative%20des%20commissions%20PEGA%20COVI%20ING2_24.03.2022_EN.pdf Members of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware
  20. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220321IPR25923/parliament-names-meps-to-sit-on-three-new-committees Parliament names MEPs to sit on three new committees
  21. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/files/organisation-and-rules/organisation/intergroups/list-of-members-freedom-of-religion-and-religious-tolerance.pdf Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance
  22. https://lgbti-ep.eu/who-we-are/members/ Members
  23. News: Lemond mentelmi jogáról Donáth Anna. Heti Világgazdaság. 30 May 2019. 25 August 2019. hu. https://web.archive.org/web/20190904072520/https://hvg.hu/itthon/20190530_Lemond_mentelmi_jogarol_Donath_Anna. 4 September 2019. live.
  24. Web site: Cseke. Balázs. 2021-11-21. Donáth Annát választották a Momentum új elnökének. 2021-11-21. Telex.hu. hu.
  25. Web site: 2022-05-09. Donáth Confirms Pregnancy, Won't Run for Momentum Presidency Again. 2022-05-29. hungarianpolitics.com.
  26. Web site: 2024-04-05 . 24 MEPs I'm watching this election . 2024-06-08 . Politico .
  27. News: MEP Awards 2020: Reaction and comment from our winners. Johnson. Brian. 2 December 2020. The Parliament Magazine. 8 January 2021.