István
Ujhelyi
Former member of the European Parliament; former member of the National Assembly of Hungary; former deputy speaker of the National Assembly
Areas of Expertise:
Dr. István Ujhelyi is a seasoned Hungarian politician with extensive experience in both national and EU politics, particularly in the fields of tourism and health. From April 2009 to 2010, he served as State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office under the government of Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai in Hungary. Following the 2010 national elections, Ujhelyi was re-elected to the National Assembly of Hungary on the national party list of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), where he served as one of the deputy speakers of the National Assembly from 2010 to 2014.
In 2014, Dr. Ujhelyi was elected as a Member of the European Parliament, where he represented the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats until 2024. During his tenure, he served as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Tourism and Transportation and was a substitute member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and its Subcommittee on Public Health.
As a key initiator of the European Health Union, Dr. Ujhelyi played a leading role in launching the European Health Union Network in 2022, creating a platform for healthcare organizations and parliamentarians to engage in collaborative dialogue.
In recognition of his contributions to tourism, Dr. Ujhelyi was appointed Special Ambassador of the UN World Tourism Organization in 2018. He currently serves as UN Ambassador to the EU institutions.