National Portrait Gallery: Krisztina Morvai

“My father was a small farmer...my mother is the daughter of a Greek-Catholic priest...I studied theology; I received my second diploma in theology. As a child, I received first communion and was confirmed, likewise my three daughters; we are believers.” -Krisztina Morvai

Krisztina Morvai was born in Budapest, in 1963. She completed her high school education in the ELTE Apáczai Csere János High School majoring in Biology and Latin. After finishing high school, she enrolled in the Eötvös Loránd University Law Faculty where she received her "cum laude" degree in law, in 1987. In 1989, she went to the United Kingdom and earned her Master of Law degree from the University of London. Between 1993-1994, she taught law at the University of Wisconsin. In 1995, she joined to the Strasbourg Human Rights Committee as a legal expert. Between 2002-2006, she worked for the CEDAW, a United Nations Agency fighting for the elimination of all forms of discrimination. Currently, she is a professor of law at the Eötvös Loránd University.

She is married and the mother of three daughters.

Krisztina Morvai is a relative newcomer to the Hungarian political scene. The first time, her name got a familiar underpinning was during the 2006 civil unrest. As a result of the admission of lying by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, a popular unrest swept through the country. Ferenc Gyurcsany admitted that the government in fact, did nothing during the past couple of years but lied. "No country in Europe has been so blatant. We obviously lied through the past one and a half to two years. And meanwhile, we didn't do a thing for four years -- nothing. We lied in the morning, we lied in the evening.'' said the cynical Prime Minister.

As the unrest spread, the government ordered the police to put down the protest by force. During this period atrocities, by the magnitude haven't seen since the 1956 revolution had been committed by the police against the demonstrators. In the clashes many prominent politicians and human rights activists were injured. Krisztina Morvai and her daughters were also victimized by the indiscriminate police attack; they had to seek the protection of a building from the teargas and the rubber bullets the police used against demonstrators.

In the wake of the 2006 unrest, she and other legal experts formed a group called the The Foundation for Legal Defense of Hungarians’ Rights. The group co-chaired by Krisztina Morvai, aimed at investigating the violations of the law by the government and the police during the 2006 unrest.

The Foundation for Legal Defense of Hungarians’ Rights uncovered and documented a great number of human rights violations. A 252 page report was later released to the public. In the report, legal experts made Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Prime Minister of Hungary, responsible for the injuries, for the unlawful imprisonment of hundreds of protesters and for the excessive use of force by the police. As one of the founders of The Foundation for Legal Defense of Hungarians’ Rights, Ms. Morvai became a household name in the country.

On March 15, 2008, Ms. Morvai and Tamas Gaudi-Nagy, also a lawyer of The Foundation for Legal Defense of Hungarians’ Rights organization, were present at the Blaha Lujza Square where enthusiastic young people celebrated the anniversary of the 1848 revolution. After the celebration, a group of protesters left for the Opera House where Ferenc Gyurcsany and his government celebrated the anniversary of revolution. At some point during the march, police charged the protesters and as a result, the peaceful demonstration turned into a violent clash with police.

Ms. Morvai also protested against the notorious statement by Simon Perez, the Prime Minister of Israel, according to which Israel has already bought up Manhattan, Poland and Hungary.

In this year, Ms. Morvai accepted the offer of Jobbik to lead the party's EP Election campaign. Jobbik is a patriotic organization founded by young people, most of them born after the collapse of communism or were just children during the final years of the communist dictatorship.

Ever since, Ms. Morvai has been tirelessly campaigning for the rights of Hungarians. She tours the country on a regular basis providing support to the dispirited population suffering from ever increasing crime and poverty.