Staff
John O’Sullivan
President
John is an editor, columnist and senior fellow at the National Review Institute in Washington. His earlier posts include editor of the National Review, associate editor of the London Times, senior fellow of the Hudson Institute, and special adviser to Margaret Thatcher.
István Kiss
Executive Director
István is a political scientist and an international relations expert. He has earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Pázmány Péter Catholic University and at the University of Edinburgh. Currently he is working on his PhD at his alma mater. From 2013 to 2018 he worked at the Századvég Foundation first as a Research Fellow then as a Senior Research Fellow. Formerly, he worked as a Political Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary.
Melissa O’Sullivan
Deputy Director/Programs
Melissa is involved with program development and execution, working with incoming guest speakers and supporting all staff in a mission oriented fashion. She also represents the Institute through her involvement with the International Women’s Club and other organisations. A former professional in the field of security working with the federal government, she is a graduate of the University of Alabama and is a commentator on the political scene on both sides of the Atlantic.
István Pócza
Director of Research
István is an International relations expert, having earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in European Studies. He had previously worked as a researcher and senior researcher at the Migration Research Institute, Századvég Foundation, and the Centre for Fundamental Rights. As an expert on foreign relations, his field of research is European politics, specializing in Austria and Germany.
Michael O'Sullivan
Cultural Affairs Director
Michael writes on the history and culture of Hungary in the inter-war period. Patrick Leigh Fermor: Noble Encounters Between Budapest and Transylvania and Trianon Tragedy of a Nation: The Memoirs of Tibor Scitovszky (Ed) are his latest publications. He is currently writing a biography of Miklós Bánffy and is also working on a comparative history Hungary and Ireland: Two Nations Two Treaties. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin; his many publications include best-selling biographies of international figures including Mary Robinson. He has been a frequent contributor to various media including The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph and the BBC. He was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary for services to Hungarian History.
Mark Higgie
Senior Fellow
Mark was Australia’s Ambassador to the EU and NATO between 2014 and 2017, previously serving as international advisor to Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He was Australia’s representative to the British Joint Intelligence Committee between 2006 and 2009 and Ambassador to Hungary between 1998 and 2001. He is also Europe Correspondent for The Spectator Australia.
Marianna Tóth
Operations Director
As Operations Director Marianna is responsible for the Institute’s management and coordination. Marianna began her carreer as Operations Director at Századvég Foundation and Századvég Economic Research Ltd. She had studied at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, furthering her education in International Studies at Károli Gáspár University.
Nóra Kobza-Kunfalvi
Head of Communications
Nóra earned her BA and MA degrees in Communication and Media from Corvinus University. Nóra had years of experience working in television, and at daily and weekly newspapers. She is currently responsible for Marketing Communication at the Danube Institute.
Violetta-Ibolya Dán
Events Manager
Violetta was born and raised in Transylvania. She holds a Master’s degree in English Linguistics and Literature from Eötvös Loránd University, also having acquired a degree in Psychology from Károli Gáspár University. Violetta had worked in the sectors of financial services, foreign export/import, tourism and marketing.
Susanna Lukács
Publications Manager
Susanna is responsible for editorial supervision of the Institute's publications. She has a doctorate from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest and a bachelors degree in literature from York University. She was awarded a scholarship to the University of Vienna where she specialised in Victorian literature. Born in Hungary, she was brought up in Canada. After graduation, she worked for the Canadian government. She has wide-ranging editorial and publication experience with both online and print media including Magyar Nemzet Online.
András Karácsony
Research Group Leader of the National Sovereignty research group
András is a Candidate of Sciences, and a Professor at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University. He is member of the editorial board of Kommentár and In Medias Res. András’s research interests are social theory, and philosophy of law. He is the author of several books and research articles.
Tamás Nyirkos
Research Group Leader of the Christianity and Democracy Research Group
Tamás is a political philosopher, and Associate Professor at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, in addition a research fellow at the University of Public Service. He is the author of The Tyranny of the Majority: History, Concepts, and Challenges.
Anton Bendarzsevszkij
Research Group Leader of the Geopolitics research group
Anton is a foreign policy analyst, and journalist. He studied Media & Communications and History at the University of Pécs, also reading Political Science at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. He was head of the Post-Soviet Department for 7 years at Kitekintő. Subsequently, Anton was director of the geopolitical foundation of the Hungarian National Bank and its research institute. He is a regular columnist at Magyar Nemzet. Anton specializes in the security policy of Post-Soviet states.
Ágnes Zsófia Magyar
Senior Research Fellow
Ágnes is a political expert. She holds a degree in Humanities, also having earned a BA in Organisational Communication from Metropolitan University. She had worked for the Hungarian People's Party in the European Parliament, subsequently taking a post as a foreign policy adviser to the Minister of Justice. She had begun her career as the head of the Foreign Secretariat of the Office of the President of the Republic.
Gyula Pál
Senior Research Fellow
Gyula holds degrees in Economics and Computer Science and Quantitative Economics. He read Philosophy at the University of Buckingham under tutelage of the late Sir Roger Scruton. He is a senior business IT consultant at SS&C Technologies and a publicist for the weekly newspaper Mandiner.
Soma Hegedős
Senior Research Fellow
Soma is a columnist and a lawyer specializing in Public law. He is a researcher at the University of Public Service (Budapest).
András Jancsó
Research Fellow
András is a PhD student at the University of Pécs. His research topic centres on Joseph Ratzinger’s political thought. He is a external lecturer at Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church. He is a member of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee. He is the president of the Association for Hungarian PhD and DLA Candidates of Philosophy.
Ádám Darabos
Research Fellow
Ádám is a political scientist, and a doctoral student of Corvinus University. Earlier, a member of the Bibó István College for Advanced Studies and a research assistant at the Institute for Political Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His research field is Christian political thought - with a specialization in Reinhold Niebuhr’s Christian Realism.
Markus Monostori
Research Fellow
Markus is a lawyer and writer. He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University. His main research areas include power theory, leadership methodology, sovereignty, and social responsibility in the West.
Enikő Bagoly
Research Fellow
Enikő earned a Master’s degree in Slavonic studies, specializing in Polish and Russian culture. She is currently studying International Security and Defence Policy at the National University of Public Service in Budapest. She speaks Polish at an intermediate level, and is fluent in Russian. Her research interests include the Visegrad countries and the Post-Soviet states.
Péter Szitás
Research Fellow
Péter was a professor at J. Selye University in Komárno (SK) and the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (SK). Previously, Péter studied linguistics in Slovakia, acquiring a PhD in literature. Péter holds an MA in International Security and Defense Policy from the National University of Public Service. He had obtained his BA in International Studies from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. His main research fields are geopolitics and terrorism.
Dávid Nagy
Research Fellow
Dávid studied International Security and Defence Policy at the National University of Public Service and at the University of Haifa. His main research fields include terrorism and radicalism in the Middle East.
Tamás Orbán
Research Fellow
Tamás studied History and International Relations at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. He commenced his career working as an intern for various research institutes in Budapest. He works as a researcher, columnist and geopolitical analyst at the Danube Institute.
Lídia Papp
Analyst
Lídia is an international relations expert. She earned her Master’s degree from Corvinus University. She also studied at the University of Haifa. She had been an intern at the Hungarian Ministry of Defence. Her primary research interests are the Middle East, humanitarian assistance, and the protection of religious freedom.
Zsófia Tóth-Bíró
Analyst
Zsófia is a third year law student at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. She is the deputy editor in chief, as well as a columnist at Reaktor. Zsófia’s years of experience in debating greatly assists her work at the Institute.
Ágnes Berei
Personal Assistant to the President
Ágnes is an economist with marketing and catering experience. She holds a degree from Budapest Business School. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids, US. Her previous work experience includes office management and personal assistance.
Dorina Blanka Dósa
Personal Assistant to the Director
Dorina is a graduate MA student in Theology. She supports the work of the Executive Director and the Director of Research. She has previous experience in events management, personal assistance, and interior design.
Orsolya Belányi
Deputy to the Operations Director
Orsolya studied Political Science at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, currently she is a student at Budapest Business School. Formerly, she gained working experience in tourism.
Tamás Eged
Communications Specialist
Tamás received a BA in Elementary Education from Apáczai Csere János Univesity. He is a qualified Marketing and Advertising manager. He was a civil servant and a press officer before joining the Institute’s Communications team.
Alíz Izabella Markó
Communications Assistant
Izabella studies International Economy and Business (MSc) at Eötvös Loránd University. She holds a degree in International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest. Currently, she is a member of the Leadership Academy of Mathias Corvinus Collegium. As an intern she had contributed to the work of different think-tanks.
Rebeka Illés
Communications Assistant
Rebeka holds a Bachelor’s degree in Slavistics from Eötvös Loránd University. She speaks multiple languages and is now studying Events Management. Formerly, she had worked in tourism and commerce.
Dalma Dóra Ducsai
Communications Assistant
Dalma is an International relations expert, having earned her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in European Studies and Diplomacy at Corvinus University in Budapest. She won a scolarship to Örebro University in 2019. She also works as a protocol officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
