According to media reports there are concerns that Vilmos Katai-Németh, a lawyer and aikido black belt, could become a symbolic “persona”.
Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister, Peter Magyar, has chosen a blind lawyer to become cabinet minister responsible for DEI matters as part of a wider government overhaul following Viktor Orbán’s election defeat.
The Magyars made the announcement on Friday, adding 52-year-old Vilmos Katai-Németh along with transport pick David Vitezgi. “For the first time in Hungarian history, a blind Hungarian citizen… will lead the Ministry of Social and Family Affairs – which also includes responsibility for access and equal opportunities,” He has written.
Katai-Nemeth has struggled with vision problems since childhood and lost her sight at the age of 16 due to hereditary retinal atrophy disease. However, he went on to qualify as a lawyer, and is a practicing lawyer. He also earned a black belt in Aikido – the first blind master of this disciple in the world – and he has developed a self-defense system for visually impaired people.
The incoming minister joined the Tisza party in 2024, and won parliamentary elections in 2026 by a comfortable margin in one of the Budapest constituencies. During the campaign, KataÃ-Németh accused Orbán’s Fidesz party of treating people with disabilities “In a patriarchal, subordinate manner,” add it “Even a blind person can see there are problems.”
In her new capacity, Katai-Nemeth will work on improving health care access, child protection reform and equal opportunities.
However, some local media reports have cast doubt on the appointment, pointing to his limited political experience and lack of familiarity with the government machinery. According to the Hungarian Conservatives, a local media outlet, there is a possibility that Katai-Németh’s role will be reduced. “Aakriti Pradhan,” Bodis Cristina, an experienced social policy expert and Magyar advisor, has much more real power.
During his campaign, Magyar – who is generally considered conservative – vowed to rebuild relations with the EU, but avoided open advocacy of LGBTQ rights, saying only that he wanted a country where “No one is stigmatized for thinking or loving differently from the majority.”
However, earlier this week, the EU’s top court found Hungary’s 2021 ‘child protection’ law – which banned depictions of homosexuality and gender reassignment in children’s media – flawed. “illegal.”
Later, Hungarian authorities received a request to register the first LGBTQ-themed television channel in the country, reportedly called Rainbow TV.
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