Judit Varga (politician)

Judit Varga (pronunciation:, born 10 September 1980) is a Hungarian lawyer and retired politician. She served as Minister of Justice from her appointment in July 2019 until her resignation in June 2023. In 2022, she was elected to the National Assembly.

Early life, education, and early career
Varga was born on 10 September 1980 in Miskolc, Hungary. In 2003, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miskolc with a judicial degree. She passed the Hungarian bar exam in 2009. From 2009 to 2018, Varga worked as a policy advisor to Members of the European Parliament from Hungary, including Erik Bánki and György Hölvényi. Varga served as Minister of State for European Union Relations in the Prime Minister's Office from June 2018 until her appointment as Minister of Justice.

Minister of Justice
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán appointed Varga to the office of Minister of Justice on 12 July 2019. In 2021, she filed a case in the Court of Justice of the European Union challenging the legality of a mechanism that would allow the European Commission to deny member states financial aid they would otherwise be entitled to receive for alleged rule-of-law violations.

National Assembly
Varga served on the Committee on European Affairs, which she chaired.

On 2 February 2024, it became known to the public that in April 2023, Katalin Novák, the president of Hungary, had pardoned Endre Kónya, the deputy director of an orphanage in Bicske who had tried to cover up child molestation at the institution. Varga, who was Minister of Justice at the time, had—as constitutionally mandated—countersigned the presidential pardon. The pardon's revelation created a scandal, and, as a result, Novák and Varga both resigned on 10 February. Varga had been considered to lead the Fidesz list in the 2024 European Parliament election.

Personal life
Varga was married to Péter Magyar, a lawyer. They have three children. The couple divorced in March 2023.

She speaks Hungarian, English, German, French, and Spanish.