PROFILE – Viktor Orban: The man who ruled Hungary for 16 years

• Orban frequently came into conflict with other EU leaders over war in Ukraine

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday conceded election defeat after 16 years in power, with the opposition Tisza Party of Peter Magyar securing a landslide win.

Viktor Orban was born in 1963 in a town about an hour west of Budapest.

He was the oldest of three boys in a family where his father worked as an agricultural engineer and was a member of the Communist Party, while his mother was a special education teacher.

There was little in his early life to suggest he would later confront Hungary’s communist system.

He attended grammar school and took part in the Young Communist League.

Football was his main passion. He played for his local team, FC Felcsut, and has remained deeply committed to the sport ever since.

In 2014, he opened the controversial Pancho Arena in his hometown, where the top-division club Puskas Akademia now plays, often before modest crowds.

Before starting university, Orban completed his military service.

He has said that during this time, he rejected an attempt by the communist secret police to recruit him as an informer.

At 23, he married fellow student Aniko Levai, whom he met at university.

They have five children, four daughters and one son, Gaspar, who received training at Britain’s Sandhurst military academy and later served as an officer in the Hungarian army in Chad.

Soon afterward, Orban left his studies early to campaign in the 1990 elections, in which Fidesz won 22 parliamentary seats, with him heading the party list.

Several of his university-era associates later became central figures in Fidesz.

His former college director, Istvan Stumpf, eventually served as his chief of staff during Orban’s first term as prime minister from 1998 to 2002.

As a young lawmaker, Orban led Fidesz into the Liberal International movement in 1992.

In 1998, he guided Fidesz to electoral victory and, at the age of 35, became Europe’s youngest prime minister.

During that term, Hungary joined NATO in 1999.

He then lost two elections, in 2002 and 2006, experiences that shaped his later political strategy.

Orban returned to power in 2010 amid the turmoil of the global financial crisis and has remained in office ever since.

‘Putin’s closest ally within EU’

Orban has frequently come into conflict with other EU leaders over the war in Ukraine, including by holding up key financial support for Kyiv.

He has accused Ukraine of trying to drag Hungary into a conflict with Russia.

At the same time, he has strong backing abroad.

He is widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “closest ally within the EU,” and US President Donald Trump supported his campaign for a fifth straight term.

Trump has said he would use American economic power to benefit Hungary if Orban were re-elected, while Vice President JD Vance visited Budapest five days before the vote and urged Hungarians to support Orban, saying he represents their interests;