Background and career
Pál Schmitt (born 13 May 1942) is a Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician who served as president of Hungary from 2010 until his resignation in 2012, following his academic misconduct controversy.
Schmitt was a successful fencer in his youth, winning two gold medals at two Summer Olympic Games.
Later, he served as an ambassador during the 1990s and was a Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2010.
After briefly serving as Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary in 2010, Schmitt was elected president of Hungary in a 263 to 59 vote in the National Assembly. He was sworn in as president on 6 August 2010. On 2 April 2012, Schmitt announced to the Hungarian Parliament his resignation as president, following the outbreak of a controversy surrounding his 1992 doctoral dissertation.
