Zsolt Szabó | |
Office: | State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation |
Term Start: | 2 July 2024 |
Birth Date: | 24 November 1961 |
Birth Place: | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Birthname: | Ferenc Zsolt Szabó |
Nationality: | Dutch |
Party: | PVV (2024–present) |
Otherparty: | VVD (1986–2024) |
Office2: | Member of the House of Representatives |
Termstart2: | 3 June 2003 |
Termend2: | 30 November 2006 |
Minister: | Judith Uitermark |
Primeminister: | Dick Schoof |
Predecessor: | Alexandra van Huffelen |
Ferenc Zsolt Szabó (born 24 November 1961) is a Dutch politician. He served as a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2005 for the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and he has been State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation on behalf of the right-wing populist Party for Freedom in the Schoof cabinet since July 2024.
He was a member of the House of Representatives from 3 June 2003 to 30 November 2006. He was the VVD's spokesperson for ICT and development cooperation, and second spokesperson for foreign affairs. During this period, Szabó was of the opinion that the Netherlands, "partly under pressure from international legislation", would soon see the introduction of the electronic signature and identity cards with biometric features (fingerprint and iris scan). In early June 2004, he asked State Secretary Medy van der Laan for an explanation about the use of open source software in the department, because Szabó wanted to prevent "OSS fetishism" in the government.[1]
He later served as vice president of IT consulting firm Capgemini. Simultaneously, he was chairman of the foundation that manages the Dutch do not call list, and he was vice chairman of ECP, an information society think tank.[2]
After the PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB formed the Schoof cabinet, Szabó was sworn in as State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation on 2 July 2024. He serves on behalf of the PVV, and he therefore ended his VVD membership.[2]
Both parents of Szabó are Hungarian. Upon his selection as state secretary, he clarified that he did not possess the Hungarian nationality.[3]