Captain Gáspár Orbán, son of outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is leaving the Hungarian armed forces early. His decision after almost six years of service was preceded by a personnel interview and a mutual agreement with his superiors. According to the server kontroll.hu, his departure comes at a time of growing criticism of the military mission in Chad, reports TASR correspondent in Budapest.
The server reminds that the prosecutor’s office is reviewing the mission in Chad, which was prepared by Gáspár Orbán, due to high security risks and possible misuse of powers. In a meeting with his superiors, an agreement was reached that he would leave the defense forces within a few days. The Ministry of Defense has not yet confirmed the information and has not specified who initiated the dismissal.
Gáspár Orbán took the military oath in June 2019 in the training squadron of the 2nd Brigade of the Árpád Bertalan Special Forces of the Hungarian Armed Forces in Szolnok in the presence of the Prime Minister. In 2020, he completed a nine-month course at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England, which launched his military career.
He became a member of the cabinet of Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczký and was responsible for the preparation of the military mission in Chad. He then traveled to this African country several times in the delegation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó.
The case of the controversial Chadian mission emerged before the parliamentary electionswhen shocking details about her plans were published on the telex.hu server by Gáspár Orbán’s classmate in Sandhurst, Captain Szilveszter Pálinkás.
“It was unacceptable to me that the Ministry of Defense and the military leadership were carrying out the ideas of the prime minister’s son, no matter how stupid the idea was. In fact, there was no national interest attached to this mission,” Pálinkás said. In addition, Gáspár Orbán counted on a 50 percent loss of Hungarian soldiers during the mission.
The Central Investigative Prosecutor’s Office (KNYF) confirmed on Tuesday that in the case of the Hungarian military mission in Chad, proceedings were initiated on suspicion of abuse of authority and other criminal acts.
In October 2023, the Ministry of Defense, on behalf of the government, submitted a proposal to the parliament to launch a military mission in Chad. At the invitation of the Chadian president, the Hungarian soldiers were supposed to strengthen the stability of the region, the security of Europe and Hungary, and limit the new waves of migration threatening from Africa. The presence of Hungarian soldiers was supposed to strengthen the fight against terrorism, help the smooth flow of humanitarian aid and local development in the Hungary Helps program, the ministry said in a statement.
