István Simicskó

István Simicskó (born 29 November 1961) is a Hungarian politician of the Fidesz–KDNP coalition. He has been a Member of the National Assembly since 1998. He served as Minister of Defence from 10 September 2015 to 18 May 2018.

Studies and personal life Simicskó was born in Tiszalök, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County on 29 November 1961. He finished his secondary studies at the Jedlik Ányos Secondary Grammar School of Csepel in 1980. He earned a degree in business economics at the College of Commerce, Catering and Tourism in 1985. Between 1999 and 2002, he was educated at the Eötvös Loránd University, where he became a Doctor of Law. Simicskó obtained his PhD degree (military sciences) at the Zrínyi Miklós National Defence University (by now integrated into the National University of Public Service) in 2009.

Political career He joined Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) in 1991 and served as leader of the party's branch in Kispest from 1994 to 1996. After the party's decline and disintegration, he left KDNP at the end of 1996 and joined the strengthening right-wing Fidesz party.

Simicskó was elected lawmaker from the Budapest regional list of the Fidesz in the 1998 parliamentary election. He became vice-chairman of the Committee of National Defence, a position which he had held until 2006 with short interrupts. After Hungary joining the NATO in 1999, he was delegated to the Defence and Security Committee of the organization's Parliamentary Assembly.

Simicskó rejoined the Christian Democrats, which re-established after continuous inward struggles and legal disputes and entered into an alliance with Fidesz. He was elected one of the vice presidents of the party in 2006. According to press reports, the relationship between Hende and Simicskó was tense and conflictual in the next two years. On 7 October 2012, Simicskó was replaced as Secretary of State for Defence by MP Tamás Vargha. He became Secretary of State for Sports in the Ministry of Human Resources on the following day, succeeding Attila Czene. In the 2014 parliamentary election Simicskó was re-elected MP again, representing Újbuda (Budapest Constituency II). He defeated opposition candidate István Józsa. Simicskó was re-elected MP for Újbuda during the 2018 parliamentary election, defeating Erzsébet Gy. Németh. He was replaced as Minister of Defence by Col. Gen. Tibor Benkő. Simicskó was appointed one of the recorders of the National Assembly in June 2018. Simicskó was defeated by opposition candidate Anna Orosz in Újbuda constituency during the 2022 parliamentary election, nevertheless he gained a mandate via the national list of Fidesz–KDNP. Simicskó became a member of the parliament's National Security Committee.

Simicskó was re-elected as MP via the Fidesz–KDNP during the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election, where the coalition fall from power. He was replaced as caucus leader by Bence Rétvári. He was appointed one of the recorders of the National Assembly and also became a vice-chairman of the parliament's National Defense and Law Enforcement Committee in May 2026.