Gábor Vona

Who is Gábor Vona?

Gábor Vona is a Hungarian politician and the leader of the Hungarian nationalist political party Jobbik. He was born on 20 August 1978 in Gyöngyös. He studied history and psychology at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest.

According to Vona's biography, the family's name was originally Vona but Gábor's grandfather, also called Gábor, died in World War II in Russia and his grandmother got married to a Zázrivecz who adopted Gábor's father. So, allegedly, he took back his rightful name. The name change occurred when he was in college.

He worked as a teacher for a short period of time. He lives in Óbuda with his wife and with his first child Benedek. His parents are pensioners. Vona was a founding member of Jobbik, first becoming deputy chairman, he was then elected as party leader in 2006.

In 2009 Vona repeatedly called for a change of government and for Hungary's ruling politicians to be "held to account", referring to among others, Ferenc Gyurcsány and Gordon Bajnai. He considers himself an "EU realist" arguing that the EU should take a new direction increasing the role of nations. Vona argues that the national police should be greatly strengthened and supports introducing an American style "three strikes law".