László Tőkés

Born

April 1, 1952 (age 74)

Known as

politician, parson, Christian minister, theologian

László Tőkés is a Romanian pastor and politician of Hungarian descent. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2007 to 2019. Tőkés served as a Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2010 to 2012. Bishop of the Reformed Diocese of Királyhágómellék of the Romanian Reformed Church, he is also a former Honorary President of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania. An effort to transfer Tőkés from his position as assistant pastor in Timișoara and evict him from his parsonage helped spark the Romanian Revolution, which overthrew Nicolae Ceaușescu and marked the end of communism in Romania. Tőkés is the president of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania, a civic organization representing Transylvanian Hungarians. He is closely associated with the Hungarian People's Party of Transylvania (PPMT), but not a member of it. He is a member of the Reconciliation of European Histories Group, and co-sponsored the European Parliament resolution of 2 April 2009 on European conscience and totalitarianism.

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