About Árpád Göncz
Árpád Göncz (10 February 1922 – 6 October 2015) was a Hungarian writer, translator, lawyer and liberal politician who served as President of Hungary from 2 May 1990 to 4 August 2000. Göncz played a role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, for which he was imprisoned for six years. After his release, he worked as a translator of English-language literary works. He was also a founding member of the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) and Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary (de facto head of state) before becoming president. He was Hungary's first freely elected head of state, as well as the first in 42 years who was not a communist or a fellow traveller. He was a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. In December 1938, Göncz, in a short essay in Magyar Cserkész ("Hungarian Scout"), welcomed the Hungarians' entry into Komárno in accordance with the First Vienna Award. By the 1949 parliamentary election, the FKGP was absorbed into the Hungarian Independent People's Front (MFNF), led by the communists, and Göncz became unemployed. Göncz worked as an activist in the newly recreated Hungarian Peasant Alliance during the revolution.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.