Professional Activities
Introductory remarks by Mrs Klára Antall, Founder
In the spring of 2009, the József Antall Building of the European Parliament in Brussels was inaugurated. It was at the conference organised on this occasion that I announced the establishment of the Antall József Knowledge Centre (AJKC). At that time, I did not anticipate that in five or six years we would achieve the kind of results you are going to read about on this website, neither did I foresee that we would inaugurate the bust of my husband in the building bearing his name and open the Knowledge Centre’s Brussels Office.
Special acknowledgement and thanks are due to the International Board of Senior Advisors, through which we can welcome prominent European politicians, my husband’s former colleagues and friends. I am deeply moved by the selfless work of the Knowledge Centre’s colleagues and hereby I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to them.
Mrs Klára Antall
International Board of Senior Advisors
Dr Wolfgang Bergsdorf
Former Advisor to Helmut Kohl
Studied sociology, psychology, and political science in Regensburg, Cologne, Bonn, and Munich. Served as advisor to Helmut Kohl from 1993 to 1998. Was also head of the domestic section of the Federal Press Office, and Rector of the University of Erfurt from 2000 to 2007.Dr Erhard Busek
Former Vice Chancellor of the Republic of Austria
Earned his doctorate in law at the University of Vienna. Served as Minister of Science and Research, then as Minister of Education, and later as Vice Chancellor of Austria from 1991 to 1995. Chairman of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, and Coordinator of the South-Eastern Cooperative Initiative.Joseph Daul
President of the European People’s Party (EPP)
Served as Mayor of Pfettisheim, and then as Deputy Major and Vice President of the Community of Communes of the Kochersberg. Was a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014, and served as Chairman of several EU committees, as well as of the Group of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament. Is President of the EPP.Mikuláš Dzurinda
Former Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic
Graduated from the College of Transport and Communications and earned his PhD in 1988. Was founder and Chairman of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union. Served as Prime Minister between 1998 and 2006, and as Foreign Minister between 2010 and 2012. Current President of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.Franco Frattini
Former Foreign Minister of Italy
Served as Foreign Minister between 2002–2004, and 2008–2011. Was Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security. Also worked as the President of the De Gasperi Foundation. Current President of the Italian Society for International Organization (SIOI). Holds many prestigious decorations, one of them being the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.Dr Michael Gehler
Professor at the University of Hildesheim
Served as Director of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary Historical Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Is Professor for Modern German and European History at the Institute of History of the University of Hildesheim, and Senior Fellow at the Center of European Integration Research at the Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms University of Bonn.Dr Ludger Kühnhardt
Director of the Center for European Integration Studies of the University of Bonn
Director of the Center for European Integration Studies and Professor of Political Science at the University of Bonn. Was chair for Political Science at Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, and acted as Dean of its Philosophical Faculty. Serves on several academic and consultative boards. Was Visiting Professor at many prestigious universities and gives lectures regularly across Europe.Vytautas Landsbergis
Former Head of State of Lithuania
Was member of the Lithuanian Reform Movement "Sajudis" that strived to liberate Lithuania from Soviet occupation. Later became President of the Council, serving as Head of State. Was chairman of the Commission for the New Constitution of the country and of the State Delegation for negotiations with the USSR. Under his leadership, Lithuania achieved international recognition of its restored independence and an agreement to withdraw Russian troops from the country.Dr Tamás Mészáros
Former Rector of the Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB)
Studied industry at the Karl Marx University of Economics, the predecessor to CUB. Acted as financial director of the publishing house Akadémiai Kiadó, then became head of the Department of Applied Economics at CUB. Served as Rector of CUB from 2004 to 2011. Current head of the Institute for Enterprise Development, and professor at the Department of Strategy and Project Management at CUB.Dr Tibor Navracsics
Government Commissioner
Has been an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University since 1997. Was a Member of Parliament between 2006-2014, and acted as Minister of Public Administration and Justice and Deputy Prime Minister between 2010-2014. Then served as a European Commissioner from 2014 to 2019. Has been a Government Commissioner for the European Capital of Culture 2023 since 2019. Besides his duties as an educator and governmental commissioner, he is heading the Europe Strategy Research Institute based at the National University of Public Service.Dr Sheika Bint Abdulla Al-Misnad
Former President of the University of Qatar
Graduated from the University of Qatar and obtained a PhD in educational management from the University of Durham. Is associated with a wide-ranging educational reform project at the University of Qatar. Is an honorary professor of law at Dalhousie University and honorary professor for civil law at the University of Durham, and also a member of several renowned international organisations.Dr József Pálinkás
Former President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS)
Earned his degree in physics in Szeged. Was Director of the HAS Institute of Nuclear Research. Was elected corresponding member of HAS in 1995 and became a regular member in 2004. Served as Minister of Education from 2001 to 2002. Was president of HAS from 2008 to 2014. Current President of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office Hungary.Dr Wolf Rauch
Professor at the Karl-Franzens University in Graz
Is Professor of the Institute of Information Science and Information Systems at the Karl-Franzens University in Graz. Was Rector of the University from 1997 to 1999. Was President of the Austrian Rector’s Conference in 1999. Is Member of many national and international information and telecommunications associations and organisations. Is a writer of several books and more than 200 dissertations on information science.Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Sejk
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait
Graduated from Claremont McKenna College and earned his doctorate at Harvard University. Was granted an honorary doctorate by the Corvinus University of Budapest in 2013. Taught at Kuwait University and acted as Ambassador to the US. Was Foreign Minister from 2003 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2006 to 2011. Has been a professor at Oxford University since 2011.Karel Schwarzenberg
Former Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic
Was President of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. Was awarded the Human Rights prize together with Lech Wałęsa in 1989. Was counsellor, then chancellor to President Václav Havel. Served as Foreign Minister between 2007–2009 and 2010–2013. Current Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Czech Parliament.Hanna Suchocka
Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Is a politician, lawyer, and university professor. Served as the Prime Minister of Poland between 1992 and 1993. Later was Minister of Justice and General Prosecutor of Poland, as well as Ambassador to the Vatican. Has been teaching at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland since 2013, giving lectures on the transformation of East-Central European countries in Venetian Commission’s work, as well as protocol and diplomatic practice.Dr Rita Süssmuth
Former President of the Bundestag
Studied history, sociology, psychology, and pedagogy at the University of Münster, the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Sorbonne. Obtained a doctorate in pedagogy. Became a member of the CDU in 1981. Served as Minister for Youth, Family and Health Affairs from 1985 to 1988, and as President of the Bundestag from 1988 to 1998. Has been honorary head of the CDU Women’s Alliance since 1986.Dr Erwin Teufel
Former Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg
Studied public administration. Was Minister of Interior from 1972 to 1974 and later Minister for Environmental Protection in Baden-Württemberg. Served as Chairman of the CDU in state legislature, and from 1991 to 2005 as Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg. Current president of the Franco-German Institute in Ludwigsburg.Dr Bernhard Vogel
Former Minister-President of the State of Thuringia
Studied political science, sociology, economics, and history. Member of Parliament for the CDU. Was Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate, and then, Minister-President of the State of Thuringia from 1992 to 2003. Was Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung between 1989-1995 and 2001-2009. Has been Honorary Chairman of KAS since 2010.Dr Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928-2017)
Former US National Security Advisor
Acted as an advisor in John F Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1960, and was National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981. Served as foreign policy advisor to President Barack Obama. Was a professor of American foreign policy at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and a trustee for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Dr Helmut Kohl (1930-2017)
Former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the reunified Germany
Studied international law, economics, and history in Frankfurt and Heidelberg. Joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1947. Later became a member of the state legislature and then Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate. Served as Chairman of the CDU party from 1973 to 1998. Was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1982 to 1990, then Chancellor of the reunified Germany from 1990 to 1998. Was member of the Bundestag for 26 years until 2002.Wilfried Martens (1936-2013)
President of the European People’s Party (EPP), Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium
Studied law and philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven. Was the President of the Flemish Christian People’s Party (CVP) and Prime Minister of Belgium between 1979-1992. Also served as President of the European Union of Christian Democrats and of the Christian Democrat International. Was a Co-founder and President of the EPP.Tadeusz Mazowiecki (1927-2013)
Former Prime Minister of Poland
Studied law at the University of Warsaw. Served in Parliament as a representative of the Catholic party ZNAK. Was Co-founder and President of the Democratic Union, contributed to the establishment of the Democratic Party. From 1989 to 1990, was the Prime Minister of Poland.Foundation Board
Mrs Klára Antall
Founder
Wife of József Antall, the first freely-elected Prime Minister of Hungary after the regime change. Founder of the Antall József Knowledge Centre, established in 2010. In 2014, Polish President Bronisław Komorowski awarded her the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.Péter Antall
Chairman of the Foundation Board
Was Director of the Antall József Knowledge Centre between 2010 and 2021, previously, he was Director of Research at Antall József Foundation from 2004 until 2010. He also worked as advisor and analyst at the Cabinet Office of the Hungarian Ministry of Justice. He was involved in the media sector as PR consultant at Duna Television between 1998 and 1999 and was also a contacted ember of Hungarian News Agency (MTI) and a press photographer.Dr László Borhy
Was the Vice Director of the Institute of Archaeology, and the Rector’s Secretariat. Habilitated in 2002, and has been Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) since 2004. Served as Head of the Department of Classical Archaeology and the Institute of Archaeology. Has been a corresponding member of HAS since 2014. Was Dean of the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE from 2015 to 2017, and was elected its Rector in 2017.Dr Péter Földesi
Graduated from the Faculty of Transportation Engineering of the Budapest University of Technology, earned his CSc in 1994, and his PhD in 2004. Has worked as lecturer at Széchenyi István University since 1995. His field of research include soft-computing and its applications in logistics. Is head of Department of Logistics and Forwarding, and Rector of the University since 2013.Dr Barna Mezey
Has been Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) since 1983. From 2000 to 2008, was Dean of ELTE’s Faculty of Law and Political Sciences. Has been Rector of Eötvös Loránd University since 2010 and Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS) since 2011. From 2012 to 2014, was Head of the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference. His primary field of research is Hungary's legal and constitutional history.Dr Attila Miseta
He pursued his medical studies in Pécs where he works as a practitioner ever since. He is a medical laboratory specialist and functions as the chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine of the University of Pécs since 2013. He became a professor in 2006. On several occasions he had the chance to work in English-speaking countries for longer terms between 1988 and 1994. He served as the vice-dean of the Medical School of the University of Pécs from 2006 to 2010, then, was leading the school as dean through 2010 to 2018. He has been in office as the rector of the University of Pécs since 1 July 2018.Board of Advisors
Klára Breuer
Has worked in various positions at embassies including Washington, London, and Vienna. Was senior foreign policy advisor to Former President Ferenc Mádl, and Chief of Staff of Former Foreign Minister János Martonyi. Is current Hungarian Ambassador to Portugal. Successfully facilitated the launch of human rights consultations between China and Hungary and the accession of Hungary to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), as observer.Dr Károly Grúber
Has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary since 1999 in various positions. Served as head of the Foreign and Security Policy Office of the Permanent Representation of Hungary in Brussels (PSC Ambassador). Current Head of Department in charge of coordinating the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Is associate professor at Széchenyi István University and lecturer at its Doctoral School of Regional Economics and Business.Dr Zsolt Hetesy
From 1997 to 2002, worked as legal advisor at the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the UN in New York. Was General Director of the Information Office from 2007 to 2010. Later worked as counter-terrorism coordinator at the Hungarian MFA. Served as Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the UN in New York from 2012 to 2016. Current Deputy Chief of Mission and ambassador at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington.Dr Tamás Magyarics
Obtained his candidate in 1997 and was Deputy, and later Head of the Department of American Studies at ELTE for years. His main fields of research are transatlantic relations and the foreign policy of the United States. From 2010 to 2011, was Director of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs. In 2011, was appointed as Hungarian Ambassador to Ireland. Currently works as habilitated associate professor at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE.Dr Gábor Pörzse
Studied at the Management School of Imperial College London, and at J. F. Kennedy School of Harvard University. Founded and directed the Centre of Grants and Innovation at Semmelweis University. Was Ministerial Commissioner, Deputy State Secretary for Science Diplomacy at the MFA. Is a strategic consultant and professor of innovation and science diplomacy at Semmelweis and Corvinus Universities.Supervisory Board
Zsolt Varga
Dr. Tamás Magyarics
Dr. Terézia Anna Bardi
Vezetőség
Antall-Horváth Veronika
Igazgató
horvath.veronika@ajtk.hu