Staff
John O’Sullivan
President
Editor and columnist, senior fellow at the National Review Institute in Washington. Earlier posts include editor of National Review, associate editor of the London Times, senior fellow of the Hudson Institute, and special adviser to Margaret Thatcher.
István Kiss
Executive Director
Political scientist and an international relations expert. He has earned his Bachelor and Masters degrees at the 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
Program Coordinator
She is involved with program development and execution, working with incoming guest speakers and supporting all staff in a mission oriented fashion. She also represents Danube 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
International relations expert. He earned his BSc. and MSc. degrees in European Studies at the Budapest based ELTE University. He previously worked as a researcher and senior researcher at Migration Research Institute, Századvég Foundation, and Center for Fundamental Rights. As an expert on foreign relations, he focuses primarily on European politics and especially Austria and Germany.
Mark Higgie
Senior Fellow
Australia’s ambassador to the EU and NATO 2014-2017, he previously served as international advisor to prime minister Tony Abbott. He was Australia’s representative to the British Joint Intelligence Committee 2006-2009 and ambassador in Budapest 1998-2001. He is also Europe Correspondent for The Spectator Australia.
Marianna Tóth
Operations Director
As operations director she is responsible for the Institute’s management and coordination. Previously she worked at Századvég Foundation and Századvég Economic Research Ltd. as operations director. Studied at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, later studied international studies at Károli Gáspár University in Budapest.
Nóra Kobza-Kunfalvi
Head of Communication
Graduated at Corvinus University of Budapest from communication and media, both BA and MA degrees. Past experience includes working at TV, daily and weekly newspapers, and is currently responsible for communication at the Danube Institute.
Violetta-Ibolya Dán
Event Manager
Born and raised in Transylvania, she is a graduate from Eötvös Lóránd University in Budapest in English language and literature, as well as from Károli Gaspar University in the Department of Psychology. She also obtained a master's degree in English language teaching at ELTE University. She's worked in the financial services, foreign export/import, tourism and marketing sectors.
András Karácsony
Research Group Leader, National Sovereignity Research Group
Professor, candidate of Sciences, professor at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University. Member of the editorial board of Kommentár and In Medias Res. Research interests: social theory, philosophy of law. He is the author of several books and studies.
Tamás Nyirkos
Research Group Leader, Christianity and Democracy Research Group
Political philosopher, associate professor at Pázmány Péter Catholic University and research fellow at the University of Public Service. Author of the book The Tyranny of the Majority: History, Concepts, and Challenges.
Ágnes Zsófia Magyar
Senior Research Fellow
Political expert. She graduated from Eötvös Loránd University with a degree in humanities and Institutional Communication from Metropolitan University. She worked for the Hungarian People's Party in the European Parliament in Brussels, after which she became a foreign policy adviser to the Minister of Justice. Previously, she was the head of the foreign secretariat of the Office of the President of the Republic.
Gyula Pál
Senior Research Fellow
Economist-computer scientist, philosopher. He is a senior business IT consultant at SS&C Technologies and a publicist for a weekly newspaper, Mandiner . He graduated from the Academia de Studii Economice in Bucharest with a degree in economic informatics and quantitative economics, and then obtained a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Buckingham under the direction of the late Sir Roger Scruton.
Soma Hegedős
Senior Research Fellow
Columnist and Lawyer specialised in Public law. He is a researcher of the University of Public Service Ludovika (Budapest).
András Jancsó
Research Fellow
PhD-student at the University of Pécs, his research topic focuses on Joseph Ratzinger’s political thinking. External lecturer at Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary. Member of the Humanities Committee of Hungarian Accreditation Committee. President of the Scientific Department of Philosophy of Association of Hungarian PhD and DLA Candidates.
Ádám Darabos
Research Fellow
Political scientist, a doctoral student of the Corvinus University of Budapest. Earlier, a member of the Bibó István College for Advanced Studies and a research assistant at the Institute for Political Science, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His research field is Christian political thought, especially Reinhold Niebuhr and his Christian Realism.
Markus Monostori
Research Fellow
Lawyer, writer. He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Lóránd University. His areas include power theory and leadership methodology, Western Civilization, and sovereignty and social responsibility.
Dávid Nagy
Research Fellow
Studied International Security and Defence Policy at the National University of Public Service and at the University of Haifa. His main research fields include the Middle East, terrorism, and radicalism.
Tamás Orbán
Research Fellow
Studied history and international relations at the Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. Previously worked as an intern for various research institutes in Budapest. Works as a researcher, columnist and geopolitical analyst at the Danube Institute.
Lídia Papp
Analyst
International Relations expert. She earned her Master degree at the Corvinus University of Budapest in International Relations. She also studied at the University of Haifa. Previously she was a research intern at the Hungarian Ministry of Defense. Her research field include the Middle East, humanitarian assistance in times of conflict, and the protection of religious freedom.
Zsófia Tóth-Bíró
Analyst
She is a third year law student at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University. She is currently one of the deputy-chief-editors as well as an author/columnist at Reaktor. The experience she gained at international debating competitions is greatly helping her in her studies and her work.
Ágnes Berei
Assistant to President
Economist, with multinational marketing and catering expericence, graduated from Budapesti Gazdasági Főiskola in Budapest and Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids, US. Previous experience includes office management and personal assistance as well.
Dorina Blanka Dósa
Assistant to Director
Graduate student of theology MA. Currently as an assistant, she is supporting the work of our Executive Director and Director of Research. She has some experience in event management, assistance and interior design too.
Tamás Eged
Communications Fellow
Graduated at the János Csere Apáczai Faculty of the University of West Hungary in 2009 as a teacher. He also owns a marketing and advertising manager OKJ qualification. Previously worked in a ministry and was a press officer for several companies. He is currently a member of the communication team at the Danube Institute.
Alíz Izabella Markó
Communications Fellow
Currently studying International Economy and Business (MSc) at Eötvös Lorán University, previously graduated from Corvinus University of Budapest with a degree in International Relations. Member of Mathias Corvinus Collegium’s Leadership Academy. As an intern she has also contributed to the work of different think-tanks.
Orsolya Belányi
Operations Fellow
She studied political science at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, currently she is a student at Budapest Business School. She previously worked and gained experience in tourism.
Richárd Komáromi
Operations Fellow
He got his degree at Kodolányi János University in interpreting and translation. He has professional experience in plenty of fields but mostly in finance and human resources. In his spare time he is an English teacher.
János Gerencsér
Intern
Law student at Pázmány Péter Catholic University of Budapest, specializes in constitutional law and international law, current field of research includes sovereignty, rule of law, and Eastern-European politics.
Vince Hegedűs
Intern
Student of political science BA and international relations minor program at PPKE. He previously completed an internship at NKE PÁK.
Rebeka Illés
Receptionist
She received a Bachelor degree in Slavistics from Eötvös Lóránd University, Faculty of Humanities. She speaks multiple languages and now studying event management. Previously she had worked in tourism and commerce.
