is a jurist, former Member of the European Parliament, and currently the ambassador of UN Tourism, responsible for the cooperation with the EU institutions. Over the past decade, he served as vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) as part of the social-democratic group and as an elected representative of Hungary.
He was also a member of the European Parliament’s committee on environment and health issues (ENVI) and one of the initiators of the comprehensive European Health Union program. Over the past decade, he was twice named MEP of the Year, primarily in categories related to tourism. Previously, he was a member and deputy-speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly for several years, and held decision-making positions in various governments, including as Secretary of State for regional development and the Prime Minister’s Office. He also chaired the National Tourism Committee in Hungary.
Currently, Ujhelyi is an International Advisory Council Member at the APCO Worldwide consulting group and global Vice-President at the HiSeas International Tourism Group. He is also a board member of the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation and Vice-President of the World Tourism Forum Institute. István is the founder-president of Capital European Affairs (CEA), which is a Brussels-based consultancy and think-tank. He is also the European coordinator of Shenzen Chamber of Commerce and the founding chairman of the international NGO, called OBOR Culture & Tourism Development Committee; which fosters Chinese-European cooperation.
During his term as a Member of the European Parliament, he co-initiated the „European Cap- ital of Smart Tourism” program and supported the so called DiscoverEU initiative as a mentor, providing free train passes to eighteen-year-olds across Europe. Additionally, Ujhelyi was named honorary ambassador for circus arts by the Monaco-based World Circus Federation, led by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.
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