Former Minister Szijjarto Resigns, Joins Chinese Automaker

Peter Szijjarto, the former Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, announced on social media that he was resigning from his seat in parliament. The reason is that he has accepted an offer from the Chinese giant BYD, one of the world's largest manufacturers of electric vehicles.

At BYD, he will head a corporate group responsible for external relations and the development of new business lines. Szijjarto, a longtime politician with the Fidesz party, served as foreign minister in Viktor Orban's government from 2014 to 2026. Following Fidesz's defeat in the recent elections, however, he played only a minimal role in parliamentary work.

His move to the private sector is closely linked to massive investments by the Chinese automaker in Hungary. BYD is currently building its first European passenger car factory in Szeged, with a planned annual capacity of up to 300,000 vehicles.

It also plans to build its European corporate and R&D center in Budapest, while it already operates an electric bus manufacturing plant in Komarom.

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