Breaking: Vodafone Global director Anita Orbán unveiled as Tisza Party’s foreign policy heavyweight

In a seismic shift for Hungary’s opposition, Péter Magyar – leader of the Tisza Party and a frontrunner to become prime minister if his insurgents topple Viktor Orbán’s regime in April’s general election – has named Dr Anita Orbán as the party’s top diplomat and foreign affairs chief.

Career in Germany and the United States

Born in the sleepy town of Berettyóújfalu, this trailblazing Hungarian rocketed from local roots to global stages. After studying in Budapest, she carved out her career in Germany before conquering the United States. Armed with a master’s in history, international law, and diplomacy, Anita Orbán, unrelated to the prime minister, made history as the first Hungarian to graduate from Boston’s Fletcher School – America’s oldest diplomacy academy. In 2008, Anita Orbán etched her name further by publishing the only scientific book by a Hungarian diplomat in the US: Power, Energy and the New Russian Imperialism.

From 2010 to 2015, she served as a roving envoy for energy security in Orbán’s second and third governments, addressing the European Parliament and US Congress. She even spearheaded Visegrád 4 representation (Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary) in Washington.

Deep links to US LNG giants

Portfolio.hu reveals Orbán’s next chapter: between 2015 and 2020, she immersed herself in America’s LNG boom. She joined Cheniere, the world’s second-largest LNG firm, before pivoting to startup Tellurian, where she drove expansion into Central Europe, Southeast Asia, and North Africa.

Her corporate ascent continued: vice-CEO at Vodafone Hungary (2021-2023), then director at Vodafone Global, based in London. Now, she’s traded the Thames for Budapest to spearhead Tisza’s vision.

Former Shell executive István Kapitány joined Magyar’s team a week earlier.

Dr Anita Orbán wants to create a strong Hungary and protect the Hungarians living abroad

Orbán’s mission, per Tisza’s statement? Forge ironclad Hungarian-Polish bonds, build a strong and sovereign powerhouse in Central Europe, and champion Hungarians abroad. Paired with István Kapitány, she’s hailed as one of the few Hungarians who’ve scaled the pinnacles of global business.

Magyar told press before that he would keep Hungary inside the NATO and the EU and would strive for pragmatic relations with Russia. He also promised that after the government change he would unlock the frozen EU assets for Hungary.

A mother of three, she’s graced Forbes’s list of Hungary’s most influential women for five years running. Her accolades include the Global Leadership Award from the Institute of Directors Hungary, plus NGO work.

Furthermore, she once helmed the foreign affairs desk at Heti Válasz, the conservative outlet once cosy with Orbán’s circle – until the dramatic 2015 “G-Day” schism with oligarch Lajos Simicska flipped it critical. The media outlet shuttered in 2018 after Orbán’s supermajority triumph; Válasz Online carries the torch with a fearless edge.

Who will rule Hungary after May?

With just three months until Hungary’s 2026 general election, challenger Péter Magyar holds a commanding lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in polls untainted by government influence. Political scientist Gábor Török warns that, if these figures hold true, victory will prove fiendishly difficult for the incumbent. Magyar himself alleged in a recent interview that parliament will scramble to tweak voting rules in the final weeks, tilting the pitch towards Orbán’s ruling coalition. Transport Minister János Lázár dismissed such meddling as unthinkable. Yet government-friendly surveys paint a starkly different picture: Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP alliance cruising to a hefty majority, if not quite a supermajority. Check out more of our articles concerning the general elections.

Even Politico rated the Hungarian elections as crucial for the EU.