Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Ernő KÁLLAI, Deputy-Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, responsible for the Rights of Nationalities

 

 

 

Studies

 

2008                Ph.D. degree in legal theory and legal sociology at the Deák Ferenc Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences, University of Miskolc

1997 - 2002     Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law and Political Sciences - lawyer

1994 - 1998     Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Arts - secondary school teacher of history

1990 - 1994     Eszterházy Károly Teacher Training College - teacher specialised in history and music

1994 - 1995     Journalism School - certified journalist

1995                Hungarian Radio - news editor and radio journalist

 

Employment

 

2010                Eszterházy Károly College, Faculty of Teacher Training and Knowledge Technology - head of department

2009                University of Debrecen, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Department of Constitutional Law - guest professor

2008                Corvinus University of Budapest, Post-graduate specialist training programme in equality and minority issues - mentor and guest professor

2007                Parliamentary Commissioner for National and Ethnic Minority Rights

2002 - 2010     Apor Vilmos Catholic College, Institute of Romology and Applied Social Sciences - head of institute, college professor

1998                Hungarian Academy of Sciences Ethnic and National Minority Research Institute - Head of research group on Romology

1999 - 2002     Miskolc University, Department of Sociology, professor

1996 - 1998     member of staff of the Roma Civil Rights Foundation

1988 - 1997     teacher at various educational institutions

 

Scholarships

 

2000 - 2002     Civic Education Project

1997 - 1999     Soros Foundation

1998 - 2002     European Roma Rights Centre

1997 - 1999     Roma Civil Rights Foundation, „Invisible College" for Roma students

 

Public and professional activities

 

2007 -              Member of the Equal Treatment Professional Advisory Board

2002- 2005      Member of the board of trustees of the Autonomy Foundation

1998- 2004      Member of the board of trustees of the Gandhi Public Foundation

 

Membership of professional organisations

 

Hungarian Sociological Society - member of the Presidential Board

Hungarian Academy of Science - member of the Public Body

Hungarian Association of Lawyers

Hungarian Society of Political Sciences

Hungarian Ethnographical Society

 

Awards

 

2006                Award for Minorities

2005                honoured by the National Gypsy Self-Government for excellence in research

 

Main areas of research using empirical data survey in the past years

 

  • Emergence of cultural rights of the minority communities'
  • The new paradigms of handling of ethnic data
  • Roma entrepreneurs in Hungary
  • Research on local Gypsy minority self-governments
  • The past and present of Gypsy musicians
  • The social history of the Hungarian Roma in the 20th century
  • Equal opportunities of Roma in Hungary. Self-governance, positive discrimination, and the role of education in improving the situation of the Roma - theoretical and practical models
  • The theoretical models and practice in Hungary of local Gypsy minority self-governments
  • The cultural autonomy of minorities

null Bilateral Consultation with the Executives of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

On 10 April 2025, Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary Dr. Ákos Kozma paid an official visit to Warsaw, where he held meetings with Ms Maria Telalian, Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as well as with the executives of the Office’s various specialized departments.



During the official meeting, Commissioner Dr. Kozma provided an overview of the functioning of the institution, accompanied by a brief historical summary, and outlined the expansion of its fundamental rights protection portfolio. He also addressed the responsibilities related to the Independent Mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), as well as the tasks associated with the National Preventive Mechanism operating under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). Following the briefing of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary, the heads of ODIHR’s relevant professional departments presented the key areas and priorities of their respective fields.


The consultation provided an opportunity for the parties to exchange views on the existing bilateral working relations between the institutions, explore possibilities for their further development and strengthening, and discuss potential directions for future cooperation.

news 2025