Alliance of Free Democrats ( SZDSZ )
Which party was István Tarlós a member of from 1989 to 1994?
István Tarlós István Tarlós ( pronounced ; 26 May 1948 in Budapest ) is a Hungarian politician who served as the Mayor of Budapest from 2010 to 2019 . Previously he served as the Mayor of the Third District ( Óbuda-Békásmegyer ) of the city between 1990 and 2006 ( as an independent candidate ) . Since 2006 he was the Chairman of the Fidesz–Christian Democratic Peoples Party ( KDNP ) Fraction-Alliance in the General Assembly of the Municipality of Budapest , and served as the political leader of the initiative Social Referendum 2008 . Early life . István Tarlós was born on 26 May 1948 in Budapest as the son of Dr . István Tarlós , Sr. , a lawyer and Hilda Dienes , a chief accountant , both worked for the Hungarian Academy of Sciences . According to himself , he came from a civic-minded , religious family . He graduated from Árpád High Schools Humanities Department . He then started to work as an unskilled laborer before he faced conscription and joined the military in Orosháza . Tarlós completed the Technical University in Budapest and received his Civil Engineer Diploma later . He then post-graduated in Finance and Organization from Ybl Miklós Technical College . Tarlós worked for 15 years in the building industry mostly in investor and contractor tasks . Among the companies he worked for were Vasútépítő Vállalat , FŐBER , ÉM , Mélyépítő Vállalat , KKMV , IKV Budapest III . In his civil engineer career Tarlós worked in many positions such as foreman , deputy construction leader , construction leader , technical controller and head of production department . In the early 1990s Tarlós launched his own architect studio with his wife . He is married since 1973 , his wife Cecília Nagy is a civil engineer . Tarlós has three grown up children and six grandchildren . Political career . Mayor of Óbuda-Békásmegyer . Tarlós was not active in politics before the political change of the 1990s . He first entered politics by becoming a member of the anti-communist Alliance of Free Democrats ( SZDSZ ) in 1989 . He then , supported by SZDSZ and Fidesz , became Budapest District III ( Óbuda-Békásmegyer ) Mayor in 1990 . He left SZDSZ , which formed a coalition with the Hungarian Socialist Party ( MSZP ) , because of ideological and moral differences in the summer of 1994 . Tarlós could not accept the radical change in directions and principles of the party within the short period of its existence . He is an independent politician since then . As independent he had been continually reelected with great majority as Mayor in Budapest District III in 1994 , 1998 and 2002 . Tarlós made it to establish functioning nexus with the liberal and socialist fraction within the Municipality of his district . The General Assembly regularly passed Tarlóss Budget Plan and Budget Report without abstention and black ball . The remains of the first conservative party of Prime Minister József Antall of the democratic Hungary , Hungarian Democratic Forum ( MDF ) was only to handle Tarlóss Budapest mayoral candidacy controversial , which resulted in numerous secession of own party members and leaders as well as demonstrations on the streets of District III and within the own walls . Tarlós , supported by Fidesz , led by Viktor Orbán , entered the local election in 2006 as mayoral candidate of Budapest , and lost by a mere 1 percent against incumbent mayor Gábor Demszky ( SZDSZ ) . Until Tarlóss challenge Demszky has always received great majority . On the other hand , Tarlós received more votes than his supporter , Fidesz all together . He , still as independent but declared conservative politician , led the Fidesz-KDNP fraction in the General Assembly of Budapest from October 2006 until October 2010 . Next to his role as fraction-leader Tarlós is presently leading the Social Referendum 2008 campaign , initiated by Fidesz and Civil Social Basis . Mayor of Budapest . First term . In 2010 he was elected with the program of bringing the local government-owned companies under direct local government control and under full oversight of the assembly . He pledged to divert more funds to material and salary expenditures of services ( police , firefighters , schools , public transport ) the state of which he described as neglected . Instead of always choosing between individual developments while the stability of the city is according to him always pressed to the limit , he wants to drive the macroeconomic curves of the city into a long-term self-sustaining . The Prime Minister guaranteed the city will be provided with the funds necessary for finishing ongoing infrastructure investments . Until 2013 the mayors administration completely overhauled the structure of the companies owned by the local government . In the new structure the companies operate more efficiently , which resulted in significant reduction of operating costs . This money can be redirected to development . In 2013 Viktor Orbáns government started a program to lift Hungarys local governments out of debt . 100% of the debts of settlements whose population is under 5000 was repaid by the government . 60% of the debt of Budapest was repaid by the government . Later the remaining 40% was also repaid by the government , after the government decided to completely eliminate all debts of all local governments . In this year the national government accepted the request of the local government to finance the BKISZ project from EU funds . This project builds the sewerage system in all parts of the city that did not have this infrastructure yet . Construction works will finish in Summer of 2015 . The capacity of the citys wastewater treatment plants by 2009 had already been increased to be able to treat all generated wastewater . In 2013 István Tarlóss administration drafted the citys next development plan , that applies to the 2014-2030 time period . 27 large projects were initiated to be realised from EU funds until 2020 . Among them was the complete reconstruction and extension of Metro Line 3 , the extension of several tramlines and the purchase of new trams and buses . From 1 January 2014 the price of most public transport passes for natural persons was decreased by 10% . This was made possible by the reorganized control activity which reduced illegal travel , increased the number of passes sold and the amount of money flowing in from pass sales . This was the first time since the fall of communism that pass prices became cheaper . On 28 March 2014 , the fourth metro line , which was constructed for eight years , was opened to the public . During Tarlóss term the capital renegotiated the contracts , by which act it was able to regain tens of billions of forints of the total cost of more than 400 billion forints . In spring of 2014 a program was initiated to install 300 ticket and pass automats citywide . These automats allow payment both via cash or credit card . The automats operate 24 hours a day , thus provide more flexibility to customers . The automats also made queues at ticket and pass offices shorter . The municipal government operates approximately 1300 buses daily . By September 2014 500 modern low-floor buses were bought , of which 300 were newly manufactured . This made it possible to scrap 500 of the oldest buses that were both in a bad state and polluted the environment too much . The municipal government plans to serve the public from 2018 only by modern low-floor buses . In September 2014 introduction of the FUTÁR information system was completed . It allows the traffic control center to continuously monitor all public transport buses and carriages of the city by having installed GPS in each of them , and it makes communication possible with the drivers concerned , e.g . with all drivers of a specific line , or of all lines affected by an accident on their common route . FUTÁR also provides information to passengers : 263 digital boards were installed to high-traffic bus and tram stops . These boards show the approximate time that remains until the next buses and carriages of the different lines arrive to the stop . The central computer system calculates the time remaining until the buses and carriages reach the stops . The boards also inform passengers about temporary route modifications and other special circumstances . The information provided by the boards can also be accessed via internet , a smartphone application is also available to do this . In September 2014 the MOL Bubi bicycle hire system was opened for public use . It consists of 76 stations in the inner part of the city , which serve 1100 bicycles . The city was scheduled to receive 47 completely low-floor CAF trams in 2015 and 2016 according to a contract signed on 2014 March 5 . As prescribed by another contract signed on 8 October 2014 , by 2017 a modern electronic ticket and pass system will replace the current and outdated paper-based system . The system is going to be introduced in multiple phases . Second term . Tarlós was re-elected mayor for a second term ( which for this time is five years long ) in the 2014 election . He received 49.06% of the votes . The reconstruction of tramlines 1 and 3 was finished in this term . These lines run along two beltways at the border of the inner part of the city . The reconstruction eliminated the speed limits that had to be introduced because of poor condition of the tracks . In this term the Interweaving Tramlines Project of Buda ( Budai Fonódó Villamos Project ) was also completed . This project unified the tramlines of the Buda ( western ) side of the Capital , creating lines that enable travelling from the northern areas of the city to the southern areas , without the need to transfer from one line to another . On 11 November 2014 a contract was signed according to which 200 new low-floor buses entered service in 2015 . This increased the ratio of low-floor buses in the bus fleet of the city from 55% to 70% . The municipal government announced in June 2017 that the ratio of low-floor buses reaches 95-99% by September 2017 . The first train of Metro Line 3 was handed over in January 2016 to the Russian Metrowagonmash ( the original manufacturer ) to be reconstructed . Tarlós had preferred buying new trains , but he had been overwritten by the Orbán government . The prototype of the reconstructed trains entered service on 20 March 2017 . Since then , the number of reconstructed trains serving the line is scheduled to increase by 2 trains every month . On 4 September 2017 the contracts for reconstructing the whole tunnel of Metro Line 3 and the stations of the northern section were signed , thus the reconstruction effectively started . The stations will be finished by 31 December 2018 . After this phase , the stations of the middle- and the southern sections will be reconstructed , the order of these two phases is not yet decided . Overhauling the tunnel is set to end by 24 August 2020 . In June 2015 , Budapest decided to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics . Tarlós emphasized the necessary city development projects and the expected boom in tourism . However , in January 2017 a civil organization called Momentum Movement started a petition to have a referendum for Budapest residents whether they want to organize it or not . The Movement campaigned for redirecting the funds from a high-risk investment to immediately support health care and education . On 17 February 2017 , it was announced that 266,151 signatures had been collected , to which Tarlós reacted by negotiating with PM Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian Olympic Committee , then agreeing to and withdrawing the bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics , leaving only Los Angeles and Paris in the race . Tarlós blamed the opposition parties they were backing out from their earlier position of supporting the bid , and called this attitude as treachery . On 5 February 2018 , nine opposition parties started collecting signatures to hold a referendum to ensure all 20 stations of Metro Line 3 are made fully accessible during the lines reconstruction . Until that point , the local government only planned to guarantee this at 12 stations , but on 7 February the mayors office negotiated with the national umbrella organization for disabled people , then announced it would build inclined elevators next to the existing escalators at 6 more stations . Both the opposition parties and the umbrella organization operating independently from them announced they regard acceptable only full compliance with accessibility standards at all stations . On February 21 , initiator of the referendum Csaba Horváth ( socialist floor leader of the Municipal Assembly ) cancelled the signature collecting , referring to the Mayors former announcement and to the calculations regarding the cost of the referendum can cover the cost of building elevators at the two remaining stations . On 10 October 2018 , István Tarlós announced that he will run for a third term as Mayor of Budapest , after negotiating about his future role with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán . According to the press , the two politicians concluded a 15-point agreement , which contained altogether HUF 1,000 billion development package . The Metropolitan Public Development Council was established with members delegated by both the government and the General Assembly of Budapest . Tarlós and Orbán also accepted a 10-year Budapest 2030 urban development plan . The government guaranteed the functions of garbage disposal and sewerage remained the responsibility of the local municipality . In June 2019 , in the oppositions first primary election , Gergely Karácsony was elected as the united oppositions joint candidate to the position of mayor . In the October 2019 local election , Tarlós , receiving 44.10% of the vote , was defeated by Karácsony , while the opposition parties also gained majority in the General Assembly of Budapest . After his defeat , Tarlós announced his retirement from politics and did not take over his gained seat in the General Assembly . Later career . Weeks after his defeat during the 2019 local elections , István Tarlós was appointed Prime Ministerial Commissioner for the Development of National Transportation and Public Service Infrastructure on 31 October 2019 . Officially , he took the position in the following day . Social work . Through assignment of numerous district mayors Tarlós became vice-chairman of the Council of Regional Development between 1999-2003 . He visited the Institutions of the EU in Brussels on diverse occasions . During this period Tarlós lead the Commission for Strategic Planning of the Central-Hungarian Region and co-founded the Hungarian Society of Law-Enforcement-Science , the Baross Gábor Society and became a member of the Széchenyi Society . Additionally Tarlós was given the task of the honorary chairman of the Disaster-Recovery and Civil Protection Council as well as of the Braunhaxler Association of Budapest District III . He is furthermore member of the board of the Christian Intellectual Alliance . Recognition of Elvis Presley . On 1 March 2011 , Tarlós announcement that the city would posthumously make US singer Elvis Presley ( 1935–77 ) an honorary citizen , as well as name a small park facing one of the citys eight crossings , and its second oldest , the Margaret Bridge , as a gesture of gratitude , made international headlines . Presleys involvement with the plight of Hungarian refugees fleeing from the effects of the 1956 Soviet invasion began on Sunday 28 October 1956 , as some 56.7 million Americans watched Ed Sullivans Sunday program at the CBS-TV network , which Presley was headlining for the second time . During that broadcast , a casual mention was made by Sullivan of the need to send aid to Hungarian refugees fleeing from the effects of the Soviet invasion . This led to Presleys official request , on his third and last appearance at Sullivans Show and as a further 54.6 million viewers watched on 6 January 1957 , for Mr . Sullivan , this time on his behalf , to request viewers to send their contributions . This was done by Mr . Sullivan himself with Presley off-camera as per the singers request on two separate occasions during the broadcast and leading up to Presleys dedication of a song which , in his opinion , fit the mood properly as the shows finale , namely the African American-written gospel song Peace in the Valley . By the end of 1957 , these contributions , as handled by the Geneva-based International Red Cross , and which translated into perishables and non perishables , as well as food rations , clothing , and other essentials , had amounted to some CHF 26 million ( US$6 million , in 1957 dollars ) and the equivalent after inflation adjustments , of US$55.6 million in 2019 dollars . Awards , prizes . - Minor Cross of Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary - Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( 2008 ) - Golden Degree of Szent Gellért Award - Eötvös József Golden Medal - Henszlmann Imre Award - Remembrance Medal for Hungarian Urbanism - Grand Cross of Allegiance for Fatherland - Medal for Civil Organisations - Golden Seal-Ring Award of Mayors - Silver Medal of the Municipality of Székelyudvarhely - Palatinus Medal of the Municipality of Révkomárom - Honored Citizen , Budapest District III ( from 2007 ) Book . - Tarlós by Károly Boros ( Magyar Ház Kiadó , Budapest , 2007 ) External links . - István Tarlós Homepage Interviews , debates . - 3 January 2008 – Criticizing the liberal Budapest-Policy , MTV Nap-Kelte - 3 January 2008 – Without Taboos , Interview , Echo TV - 16 January 2008 – Debate , István Tarlós and Ildikó Lendvai ( MSZP ) , MTV Nagy Kérdés Speeches . - 17 August 2007 Civil Academy , Speech of István Tarlós , recorded by Echo TV