Former Hungarian FM Szijjártó joins Chinese EV giant BYD as top executive

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Former Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced Wednesday he had resigned from parliament to take a senior executive role at Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD.

Szijjártó said on Facebook he had accepted “a highly prestigious offer” from the company, and will become “the executive responsible for the group’s external relations and the development of new business lines.”

Prime Minister Péter Magyar — who ousted his predecessor Viktor Orbán in the country’s April elections — quickly turned Szijjártó’s career move into a political attack, accusing him of having “long represented foreign interests” and of lobbying for “massive Hungarian state subsidies” for BYD before joining the company.

“The only difference from before is that from now on, Péter Szijjártó will not be paid by the Hungarian people for the same ‘work,’ but by his actual employer,” wrote Magyar.

A Fidesz loyalist since the late 1990s, Szijjártó served as Orbán’s spokesperson before he became foreign minister in 2014 — a position he held until earlier this year. As Hungary’s top diplomat, he became one of the strongest advocates for closer ties with Beijing and Moscow. In March, he acknowledged liaising with senior Russian officials while EU governments debated fresh sanctions against the Kremlin.

BYD has grown central to China’s manufacturing push in Europe. The EV company is expected to begin assembling cars at its new Hungarian factory later this year after prioritizing the site as its main European production hub.

Szijjártó is not the only European politician headed for the automotive business either. Former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who left politics after his party’s election defeat, is set to become chief executive of Germany’s largest car dealer, Autoland AG, in 2027.