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Árpád Fremond (Serbian Cyrillic: Арпад Фремонд, romanized: Arpad Fremond; born 4 December 1981) is a Serbian politician from the country's Hungarian community. He served in the National Assembly of Serbia from 2008 to 2022 as a member of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) and became the leader of Serbia's Hungarian National Council in December 2022.

Early life and private career

Fremond was born in Bačka Topola, in what was then the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the Socialist Republic of Serbia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Raised in the nearby village of Pačir, he earned a degree from Bačka Topola's agricultural college in 2000 as a veterinary technician. He later graduated from the faculty of teacher training at the University of Novi Sad (Subotica branch) in Sombor, and in 2010–11 he earned a master's degree from the same institution.

Politician

Early years (2000–08)

Fremond joined the VMSZ in 2000 and was a founding member of its youth wing. He appeared on the party's electoral lists for the Assembly of Vojvodina in the 2004 provincial election and the Bačka Topola municipal assembly in the concurrent local elections, although he did not receive a mandate to serve at either level.

He received the fifth position on the VMSZ list in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election. The party won three seats, and he was not included in its delegation. (From 2000 to 2011, Serbian parliamentary mandates were awarded to sponsoring parties or coalitions rather than to individual candidates, and it was common practice for the mandates to be assigned out of numerical order. Fremond's specific list position had no formal bearing on his chances of election.)

Parliamentarian (2008–2022)

Cvetković administration (2008–2012)

For the 2008 parliamentary election, Fremond received the thirty-third position on the electoral list of the Hungarian Coalition, a multi-party alliance led by the VMSZ. The coalition won four seats, all of which were assigned to VMSZ members, and on this occasion he was given a mandate. He also appeared on the Hungarian Coalition's list for Bačka Topola in the 2008 local elections; as in 2004, he did not take a seat at the local level.

The overall results of the 2008 parliamentary election were inconclusive, but the For a European Serbia (ZES) alliance ultimately formed a coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), and the VMSZ provided crucial support to the administration in the assembly. In his first term, Fremond was a member of the committee on agriculture and the committee on local self-government; a deputy member of the education committee, the labour committee, and the committee on development and international relations; and a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with Austria, Romania, and Slovenia.

Dačić and Vučić administrations (2012–2017)

Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that all mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order. Fremond was given the fourth position on the VMSZ's list for the 2012 parliamentary election and was re-elected when the list won five mandates. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won a plurality victory and afterward formed a new coalition government with the SPS and other parties; the VMSZ declined an offer to join the government and instead served in a largely nominal opposition role for the next two years. Fremond was a member of the agriculture committee, a deputy member of the committee on human and minority rights and gender equality, and a member of the friendship groups with Hungary and Slovenia.

He again received the fourth position on the VMSZ list for the 2014 parliamentary election and was re-elected when the list won six mandates. The VMSZ began supporting Serbia's SNS-led government in the assembly after the election. Fremond was promoted to deputy chair of the agriculture committee and served as a deputy member of the finance committee and the education committee. As before, he was a member of the friendship groups with Hungary and Slovenia.

For the 2016 parliamentary election, Fremond was promoted to the third position on the VMSZ list and was re-elected when the list won four seats. He held the same committee assignments as in the previous parliament and also served as a deputy member of the committee on the rights of the child. In this term, he was a member of the friendship groups with Croatia and Hungary.

Brnabić administration (2017–2022)

The VMSZ led a successful drive to increase its voter turnout in the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election and won a record nine seats. Fremond, who again appeared in the third list position, was elected to a fifth term. He continued to serve as deputy chair of the agricultural committee and was a deputy member of the committee on constitutional and legal issues, the health and family committee, and the environmental protection committee, as well as participating in the friendship groups with Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Fremond also received the sixth position on the VMSZ's list for Bačka Topola in the concurrent 2020 Serbian local elections and was elected to the municipal parliament when the list won a majority victory with nineteen out of thirty-five seats.

He once again appeared in the third position on the VMSZ's list in the 2022 parliamentary election and was re-elected even as the list fell back to five seats. In the parliament that followed, he was a member of the agriculture committee and a deputy member of the education committee, the judiciary committee, and the culture and information committee.

In parliament, Fremond often spoke on issues pertaining to Vojvodina's farming and dairy-producing communities.

Leader of the Hungarian National Council

Fremond led the Hungarian Unity list in the 2022 election for Serbia's Hungarian National Council The outcome of the election was not in doubt; no other lists participated, and Hungarian Unity won all thirty-five available seats. Fremond resigned from the national assembly on 8 December 2022 (and the Bačka Topola municipal assembly on 13 December) and was chosen as president of the Hungarian National Council on 16 December.

Fremond was given the symbolic final position (250th) on the VMSZ's list in the 2023 Serbian parliamentary election and has received the equally symbolic final position (thirty-fifth) on the party's list for Bačka Topola in the 2024 Serbian local elections.

Notes

1. Formally known as the Committee on Labour, Veterans' Affairs, and Social Affairs.
2. Formally known as the Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management Committee.
3. Formally known as the Committee on Finance, Budget, and Control of Public Spending.
4. Formally known as the Committee on Education, Science, Technological Development, and the Information Society.
5. Formally known as the Committee on Judiciary, Public Administration, and Local Self-Government.

References

1. Arpad Fremond – POTPREDSEDNIK SVM, Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség, accessed 6 November 2021.
2. Arpad Fremond, istinomer.rs, accessed 27 April 2017.
3. Snežana Čongradin, "I ja bih voleo da utičem na liturgije", Danas, 15 March 2009, accessed 6 November 2021.
4. Fremond Árpád – VMSZ ALELNÖK, Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség, accessed 6 November 2021.
5. Fremond received the seventeenth position on the party's list at the provincial level. During this period, proportional mandates in Vojvodina provincial elections were awarded at the discretion of successful parties or coalitions; his specific position on the list had no bearing on his chances of election. See РЕШЕЊЕ О УТВРЂИВАЊУ ЗБИРНЕ ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ ЗА ИЗБОРЕ ЗА ПОСЛАНИКЕ У СКУПШТИНУ АУТОНОМНЕ ПОКРАЈИНЕ ВОЈВОДИНЕ, 19. СЕПТЕМБРА 2004. ГОДИНЕ, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
6. In the 2004 local elections, the first one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order, while the remaining two-thirds were distributed to other candidates at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (June 2002) Archived 2021-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 33/2002; made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024. Fremond received the nineteenth position on the party's local list in Bačka Topola in 2004. See Službeni List (Opštine Bačka Topola), Volume 36 Number 7 (8 September 2004), p. 85. The party won a plurality victory with fifteen out of forty-one mandates, and he was not chosen for its assembly delegation. See Službeni List (Opštine Bačka Topola), Volume 36 Number 13 (21 October 2004), pp. 14-16.
7. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 21. јануара и 8. фебрауара 2007. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (8 Савез војвођанских Мађара - Јожеф Каса), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
8. 14 February 2007 legislature, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 23 November 2021.
9. Serbia's Law on the Election of Representatives (2000) stipulated that parliamentary mandates would be awarded to electoral lists (Article 80) that crossed the electoral threshold (Article 81), that mandates would be given to candidates appearing on the relevant lists (Article 83), and that the submitters of the lists were responsible for selecting their parliamentary delegations within ten days of the final results being published (Article 84). See Law on the Election of Representatives, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000, made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024.
10. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 11. маја 2008. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (7 МАЂАРСКА КОАЛИЦИЈА - ИШТВАН ПАСТОР), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
11. Fremond received the thirty-second position on the list. See Službeni List (Opštine Bačka Topola), Volume 40 Number 6 (30 April 2008), p. 68. The list won a majority victory with twenty-two seats. See Službeni List (Opštine Bačka Topola), Volume 40 Number 7 (12 May 2008), p. 74. For the 2008 local elections, all mandates were assigned to candidates on successful lists at the discretion of the sponsoring parties or coalitions. See Law on Local Elections (2007), Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 35/2000; made available via LegislationOnline, Archived 2021-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 7 April 2024.
12. ÁRPÁD FREMOND (АРПАД ФРЕМОНД), Archived 2012-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 31 May 2022.
13. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине, 6. мај 2012. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (9 VAJDASАGI MAGYAR SZОVETSЕG - PАSZTOR ISTVАN - САВЕЗ ВОЈВОЂАНСКИХ МАЂАРА-ИШТВАН ПАСТОР), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
14. "New Serbian government expected to open door to ethnic minorities," British Broadcasting Corporation Monitoring European, 6 July 2012 (Source: Vecernje novosti website, Belgrade, in Serbian 1 Jul 12).
15. ÁRPÁD FREMOND (ARPAD FREMOND), Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 31 May 2022.
16. Избори за народне посланике Народне скупштине одржани 16. и 23. марта 2014. године – ИЗБОРНЕ ЛИСТЕ (5 Vajdasagi Magyar Szovetseg - Pasztor Istvan - Савез војвођанских Мађара - Иштван Пастор), Archived 2021-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
17. ÁRPÁD FREMOND (ARPAD FREMOND), Archived 2014-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 31 May 2022.
18. Избори за народне посланике 2016. године – Изборне листе (6 Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség-Pásztor István - Савез војвођанских Мађара-Иштван Пастор), Archived 2021-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 7 April 2024.
19. ÁRPÁD FREMOND (ARPAD FREMOND), Archived 2020-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 31 May 2022.
20. ИЗБОРИ ЗА НАРОДНЕ ПОСЛАНИКЕ НАРОДНЕ СКУПШТИНЕ, 21. ЈУН 2020. ГОДИНЕ – Изборне листе (4 Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség-Pásztor István – Савез војвођанских Мађара – Иштван Пастор), Republic Election Commission, Republic of Serbia, accessed 27 October 2021.
21. ÁRPÁD FREMOND (ARPAD FREMOND), Archived 2021-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 31 May 2022.
22. Službeni List (Opštine Bačka Topola), Volume 52 Number 16 (10 June 2020), p. 264.
23. Službeni List (Opštine Bačka Topola), Volume 52 Number 16 (29 June 2020), p. 269.
24. "Ko su kandidati Saveza vojvođanskih Mađara-Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség za poslanike", Danas, 18 February 2022, accessed 28 May 2022.
25. ÁRPÁD FREMOND, National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, accessed 3 August 2022.
26. See for instance Farmeri očajni, idu iz mlekarstva, B92, 26 May 2015, accessed 27 April 2017; and "Fremond: Važi li prinudna naplata samo u Vojvodini?", Radio Television of Serbia, 19 November 2013, accessed 27 April 2017.
27. "Íme, kik kerültek fel a VMSZ által összeállított Magyar Összefogás listára", Szabad Magyar Szó, 12 September 2022, accessed 13 December 2022.
28. "Pásztor Bálint: Ellenzéki sajtó még van, ellenzék már nincs", Szabad Magyar Szó, 25 November 2022, accessed 13 December 2022.
29. "Pásztor: Fremond Árpád lesz az MNT elnöke", Szabad Magyar Szó, 8 December 2022, accessed 13 December 2022.
30. Službeni List (Opštine Bačka Topola), Volume 54 Number 40.2 (22 December 2022), p. 1135.
31. "Arpad Fremond izabran za novog predsednika Mađarskog nacionalnog saveta", N1, 16 December 2022, accessed 5 January 2023.
32. "Ko je na listi SVM za parlamentarne izbore u Srbiji", N1, 8 November 2023, accessed 20 April 2024.
33. Изборне Листе (Локални 2024) – 1. КОАЛИЦИЈА САВЕЗ ВОЈВОЂАНСКИХ МАЂАРА – ДЕМОКРАТСКА СТРАНКА ВОЈВОЂАНСКИХ МАЂАРА – СТРАНКА МАЂАРСКОГ ЈЕДИНСТВА, Bačka Topola Municipal Election Commission, accessed 3 May 2024.

• 1981 births
• Living people
• People from Bačka Topola
• Hungarians in Vojvodina
• Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)
• Members of the Hungarian National Council (Serbia)
• Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians politicians