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Viktor Orban's new security entourage
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. © Nicolas Landemard/Le Pictorium/MaxPPP//Mark Astakhov/iStock//Indigo Publications

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Viktor Orban's new security entourage

Intelligence, defence, diplomacy, soft power: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has since 2022 been mentoring a number of rising stars in his government, who have assisted him in his geopolitical decisions, military adventures and military-industrial ambitions. That younger generation is both working with, and competing against, longstanding securocrat veterans. Orban is well aware of this rivalry, and uses it to his own advantage with clever games involving cross-oligarchic jealousy and alliances.

Viktor Orban's new security entourage
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. © Nicolas Landemard/Le Pictorium/MaxPPP//Mark Astakhov/iStock//Indigo Publications

Africa, Hungary
Well-connected cop on track to be Hungary's consul in Chad

Budapest is preparing for its military deployment in Chad, a first for the country. It is also boosting its diplomatic presence there by opening a consulate. The likely candidate to run the new mission is a veteran of international security missions in Africa.

LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 15.04.2024

Hungary
Budapest boosts its soft-power arsenal

The mastermind of Viktor Orbán's foreign affairs vision is setting up a growing number of think tanks to spread Hungarian influence abroad as the country seeks to become a future bridge between Washington and Beijing.

LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 08.04.2024

Hungary
PM Orban's young adviser Balazs Orban rearranges his foreign policy tools

A discreet international policy analysis institution close to the Hungarian prime minister is moving into influence missions overseas.

The young political adviser Balazs Orban, the right-hand man of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 01.04.2024
The young political adviser Balazs Orban, the right-hand man of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Hungary, Sweden
Saab agrees to defence cooperation as part of new Gripen aircraft deal

On Friday 23 February, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán announced that the government was buying four additional JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft from Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab, catching his own diplomatic corps off guard.

LogoSubscribers only International Dealmaking 27.02.2024

Hungary
Hungary's general staff worried about upcoming deployment to Chad

The planned deployment of 200 Hungarian soldiers to Chad for a peace-keeping operation in spring is provoking concern and anguish in Budapest's military circles. The general staff see it primarily as a reflection of the government's less-than-transparent political and economic intentions.

Hungarian Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky was questioned before parliament in late January about the planned military deployment in Chad.
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 26.02.2024
Hungarian Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky was questioned before parliament in late January about the planned military deployment in Chad.

Spymaster | Hungary
Ex-journalist anointed Hungarian spymaster in latest intelligence upheaval

Tamás Lánczi, a former journalist with close ties to Hungary's ruling Fidesz party has been appointed head of the recently created Office for the Protection of Sovereignty, the latest addition to an increasingly saturated intelligence landscape.

Former journalist Tamás Lánczi.
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 02.02.2024
Former journalist Tamás Lánczi.

Hungary, United States
Claremont Institute fellow David Reaboi discloses lobbying activities for Hungary's Orban

A champion of Saudi Arabia and sworn enemy of Qatar, Reaboi's updated disclosure reports provide more details about his advocacy for Orban on social media.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
LogoSubscribers only Corporate Intelligence 10.10.2023
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Spymaster | Hungary
Jozsef Kovacs, Viktor Orban's discreet right-hand security man

The secretary of state for national information is present at all defence council meetings and in charge of the prime minister's 'special projects'. His duties have evolved in recent months, from managing intelligence flows to defence planning.

Free access Government Intelligence 22.09.2023

Hungary, United States
Biden administration checks Orban's effort to deepen ties with Trump network

By imposing new visa restrictions on Hungarians, sources say the US government hopes to curb the honeymoon between Orban emissaries and top Republicans - especially those who could hold influential positions if Trump wins next year's election.

LogoSubscribers only Corporate Intelligence 23.08.2023

Hungary
Sanctions against Serb intelligence chief puts Budapest on edge

The US's decision to sanction the head of the BIA, Serbia's civil intelligence service, has members of the Hungarian government worried, not least a handful of individuals who for months have been facing the threat of a similar fate.

Serbian civilian intelligence (BIA) chief Aleksandar Vulin, in August 2022. He was interior minister at the time.
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 20.07.2023
Serbian civilian intelligence (BIA) chief Aleksandar Vulin, in August 2022. He was interior minister at the time.

Hungary
Mate Kocsis soon to be Orban's homeland security tsar

The MP and former mayor Mate Kocsis, a loyal stalwart of the Fidesz party, is tipped to replace Sandor Pinter as minister of the interior in an imminent cabinet reshuffle.

Hungarian parliamentary and municipal representative Mate Kocsis.
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 10.05.2023
Hungarian parliamentary and municipal representative Mate Kocsis.

Hungary
Balazs Orban, Hungarian PM Orban's new pillar of strategic foreign affairs

Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is about to split in two. Peter Szijjarto, who has led the ministry for the past decade, will remain in charge of trade, while ambitious young spin doctor Balazs Orban will head the diplomatic corps.

Balazs Orban, diplomatic adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (photo from 2015).
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 09.05.2023
Balazs Orban, diplomatic adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (photo from 2015).

Hungary
Hungarian defence ministry's rising star takes charge of strategy review

Innovation commissioner Imre Porkolab is moving up the ranks in a Hungarian defence ministry in the throes of reform, as it tries to maintain cordial relations with Moscow while also deepening its involvement in European defence structures.

LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 05.04.2023

Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine
Partners Aero Vodochody and Omnipol torn over Ukraine strategy

The Czech manufacturer of the L-39 fighter jet Aero Vodochody has kept a back seat on Ukraine, largely because of its majority shareholders' ties with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban. Its other shareholder however, the Czech group Omnipol, is actively providing its wares to Ukraine's armed forces.

LogoSubscribers only International Dealmaking 04.04.2023

Hungary
Viktor Orban's close adviser Balazs Orban handed keys to Hungarian foreign policy

IFAT, a think-tank under the authority of the foreign ministry with access to intelligence analyses, is to be attached to the office of the prime minister's influential political adviser, Balazs Orban. The switch reflects the PM's wish to retake control of the flow of information within government and redefine the country's foreign policy priorities.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban (left) and his adviser Balazs Orban.
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 28.03.2023
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban (left) and his adviser Balazs Orban.

Europe, Hungary
Viktor Orban's intelligence corps keeps watch in Brussels

Hungary's two-year battle for access to EU funding has had a profound effect on its external intelligence missions. The Informacios Hivatal's priority is now to carefully observe EU policymakers in Brussels.

LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 06.02.2023

Hungary
Hungarian intelligence presses ahead with reforms in midst of upheavals

Against the backdrop of Russia's war on Ukraine, Budapest's intelligence community, which is currently undergoing major reforms, is seeking a new balance as it struggles to attract new recruits and faces scrutiny from its NATO allies.

LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 09.01.2023

Spymaster | Hungary
Sandor Pinter, the immovable warden of Hungarian intelligence

While Victor Orban's chief of staff Antal Rogan has been extending his control of the country's intelligence, the true curator of the sector remains the long-serving interior minister and political heavyweight, Sandor Pinter.

The Hungarian Minister of the Interior Sandor Pinter.
LogoSubscribers only Government Intelligence 25.11.2022
The Hungarian Minister of the Interior Sandor Pinter.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

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Viktor Orban's new security entourage

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