Name	Daily Mail
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Foundation	4 May 1896
Owners	Daily Mail and General Trust
Political	Pro-Conservative
Publisher	Associated Newspapers Ltd
Editor	Paul Dacre
Circulation	2,100,855
Language	English
Website	dailymail.co.uk }}

The ''Daily Mail'' is a British, daily middle market tabloid newspaper. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after ''The Sun''. Its sister paper ''The Mail on Sunday'' was launched in 1982. Scottish and Irish editions of the daily paper were launched in 1947 and 2006 respectively. The ''Daily Mail'' was Britain's first daily newspaper aimed at the newly-literate "lower-middle class market resulting from mass education, combining a low retail price with plenty of competitions, prizes and promotional gimmicks", and the first British paper to sell a million copies a day. It was, from the outset, a newspaper for women, being the first to provide features especially for them, and is still the only British newspaper whose readership is more than 50% female.

Overview

The ''Mail'' was originally a broadsheet but switched to a compact format on 3 May 1971, the 75th anniversary of its founding. On this date it also absorbed the ''Daily Sketch'', which had been published as a tabloid by the same company. The publisher of the ''Mail'', the Daily Mail and General Trust is currently a FTSE 250 company and the paper has a circulation of around two million which is the third-largest circulation of any English language daily newspaper and one of the highest in the world.

Circulation figures according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations in November 2010 show gross sales of 2,100,855 in November 2010 for the ''Daily Mail''. According to a December 2004 survey, 53% of ''Daily Mail'' readers voted for the Conservative Party, compared to 21% for Labour and 17% for the Liberal Democrats. The main concern of Viscount Rothermere, the current chairman and main shareholder, is that the circulation be maintained. He testified before a House of Lords select committee that "we need to allow editors the freedom to edit", and therefore the newspaper's editor was free to decide editorial policy, including its political allegiance. The ''Mail'' has been edited by Paul Dacre since 1992.

Under Dacre, the Mail has a reputation for a conservative editorial stance on topics such as immigration, working women and teenage sex.

History

Early history

The ''Daily Mail'', devised by Alfred Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe) and his brother Harold (later Lord Rothermere), was first published on 4 May 1896. It was an immediate success. It cost a halfpenny at a time when other London dailies cost one penny, and was more populist in tone and more concise in its coverage than its rivals. The planned issue was 100,000 copies but the print run on the first day was 397,215 and additional printing facilities had to be acquired to sustain a circulation which rose to 500,000 in 1899. Lord Salisbury, 19th-century Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, dismissed the ''Daily Mail'' as "a newspaper produced by office boys for office boys." By 1902, at the end of the Boer War, the circulation was over a million, making it the largest in the world.

With Harold running the business side of the operation and Alfred as Editor, the Mail from the start adopted an imperialist political stance, taking a patriotic line in the Second Boer War, leading to claims that it was not reporting the issues of the day objectively. From the beginning, the Mail also set out to entertain its readers with human interest stories, serials, features and competitions (which were also the main means by which the Harmsworths promoted the paper).

In 1900, the ''Daily Mail'' began printing simultaneously in both Manchester and London, the first national newspaper to do so (in 1899, the ''Daily Mail'' had organised special trains to bring the London-printed papers north). The same production method was adopted in 1909 by the ''Daily Sketch'', in 1927 by the ''Daily Express'' and eventually by virtually all the other national newspapers. Printing of the ''Scottish Daily Mail'' was switched from Edinburgh to the Deansgate plant in Manchester in 1968 and, for a while, ''The People'' was also printed on the Mail presses in Deansgate. In 1987, printing at Deansgate ended and the northern editions were thereafter printed at other Associated Newspapers plants.

In 1906, the paper offered £1,000 for the first flight across the English Channel and £10,000 for the first flight from London to Manchester. ''Punch'' magazine thought the idea preposterous and offered £10,000 for the first flight to Mars, but by 1910 both the Mail's prizes had been won. (For full list see Daily Mail aviation prizes.)

The paper was accused of warmongering before the outbreak of World War I, when it reported that Germany was planning to crush the British Empire. Northcliffe created controversy by advocating conscription when the war broke out. On 21 May 1915, Northcliffe wrote a blistering attack on Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War. Kitchener was considered a national hero, and, overnight, the paper's circulation dropped from 1,386,000 to 238,000. 1,500 members of the London Stock Exchange ceremonially burned the unsold copies and launched a boycott against the Harmsworth Press. Prime Minister H. H. Asquith accused the paper of being disloyal to the country.

When Kitchener died, the Mail reported it as a great stroke of luck for the British Empire. The paper then campaigned against Asquith, who resigned on 5 December 1916. His successor, David Lloyd George, asked Northcliffe to be in his cabinet, hoping it would prevent him from criticising the government. Northcliffe declined.

Inter-war period

As Lord Northcliffe aged, his grip on the paper slackened and he might have nothing to do with it for months at a time. But light-hearted stunts might enliven him, such as the Hat campaign in the winter of 1920. This was a contest with a prize of £100 for new design of hat — a subject in which Northcliffe took a particular interest. There were 40,000 entries and the winner was a cross between a top hat and a bowler christened the ''Daily Mail Sandringham Hat''. The paper subsequently promoted the wearing of it but without much success. In 1922, when Lord Northcliffe died, Lord Rothermere took full control of the paper.

In 1919, Alcock and Brown made the first flight across the Atlantic winning a prize of £10,000 from the ''Daily Mail''. In 1930, the ''Daily Mail'' made a great story of another aviation stunt, awarding another prize of £10,000 to Amy Johnson for making the first solo flight from England to Australia.

The ''Daily Mail'' had begun the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1908. At first, Northcliffe had disdained this as a publicity stunt to sell advertising and he refused to attend. But his wife exerted pressure upon him and he changed his views, becoming more supportive. By 1922, the editorial side of the paper was fully engaged in promoting the benefits of modern appliances and technology to free its female readers from the drudgery of housework. The ''Mail'' maintained the event until selling it to Media 10 in 2009.

On 25 October 1924, the ''Daily Mail'' published the forged Zinoviev Letter, which indicated that British Communists were planning violent revolution. This was a significant factor in the defeat of Ramsay MacDonald's Labour Party in the 1924 general election, held four days later.

From 1923, Lord Rothermere and the ''Daily Mail'' formed an alliance with the other great press baron, Lord Beaverbrook. Their opponent was the Conservative party politician and leader Stanley Baldwin. By 1929, George Ward Price was writing in the Mail that Baldwin should be deposed and Beaverbrook elected as leader. In early 1930, the two Lords launched the United Empire Party which the ''Daily Mail'' supported enthusiastically.

The rise of the new party dominated the newspaper and, even though Beaverbrook soon withdrew, Rothermere continued to campaign. Vice Admiral Taylor fought the first by-election for the United Empire Party in October, defeating the official Conservative candidate by 941 votes. Baldwin's position was now in doubt but, in 1931, Duff Cooper won the key by-election at St George's, Westminster, beating the United Empire Party candidate, Sir Ernest Petter, supported by Rothermere, and this broke the political power of the press barons.

In 1927, the celebrated picture of the year ''Morning'' by Dod Proctor was bought by the ''Daily Mail'' for the Tate Gallery.

Lord Rothermere was a friend and supporter of both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, which influenced the ''Mail'''s political stance towards them during the 1930s. Rothermere's 1933 leader "Youth Triumphant" praised the new Nazi regime's accomplishments, and was subsequently used as propaganda by them.

Rothermere and the ''Mail'' were also editorially sympathetic to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. Rothermere wrote an article entitled "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" in January 1934, praising Mosley for his "sound, commonsense, Conservative doctrine". This support ended after violence at a BUF rally in Kensington Olympia later that year.

Post-war history

On 5 May 1946, the ''Daily Mail'' celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Winston Churchill was the chief guest at the banquet and toasted it with a speech,

In reply, Lord Rothermere II had something to say about the newsprint shortages at that time for, while the ''Mail'' of 1896 was 8 pages, the Mail of 1946 was reduced to just 4.

The ''Daily Mail'' was transformed by its editor of the seventies and eighties, Sir David English. Sir David began his Fleet Street career in 1951, joining ''The Daily Mirror'' before moving to ''The Daily Sketch'', where he became features editor. It was the ''Sketch'' which brought him his first editorship, from 1969 to 1971. That year the ''Sketch'' was closed and he moved to take over the top job at the ''Mail'', where he was to remain for more than 20 years. English transformed it from a struggling rival selling two million copies fewer than the ''Daily Express'' to a formidable journalistic powerhouse, which soared dramatically in popularity. After 20 years perfecting the Mail, Sir David English became editor-in-chief and chairman of Associated Newspapers in 1992.

The paper enjoyed a period of journalistic success in the 1980s, employing some of the most inventive writers in old Fleet Street including the gossip columnist Nigel Dempster, Lynda Lee Potter and sportswriter Ian Wooldridge (who unlike some of his colleagues — the paper generally did not support sporting boycotts of white-minority-ruled South Africa — strongly opposed Apartheid). In 1982, a Sunday title, the ''Mail on Sunday'', was launched (the ''Sunday Mail'' was already the name of a newspaper in Scotland, owned by the Mirror Group.) There are Scottish editions of both the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Mail on Sunday'', with different articles and columnists. In 1992, the current editor, Paul Dacre, was appointed.

Scottish, Irish, Continental and Indian editions

Scottish ''Daily Mail''

The ''Scottish Daily Mail'' was published as a separate title from Edinburgh, starting in 1947. The circulation was poor though, falling to below 100,000 and the operation was rebased to Manchester in December 1968. In 1995 the ''Scottish Daily Mail'' was relaunched printed in Glasgow. With a circulation in Dec 2009 of 113,771 making it the third highest daily newspaper sale in Scotland.

Irish edition

The Daily Mail officially entered the Irish market with the launch of a local version of the paper on 6 February 2006; free copies of the paper were distributed on that day in some locations to publicise the launch. Its masthead differs from that of UK versions by having a green rectangle with the word "IRISH", instead of the Royal Arms. The Irish version includes stories of Irish interest alongside content from the UK version. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Irish edition had a circulation of 63,511 for July 2007, falling to an average of 49,090 for the second half of 2009. Since 24 September 2006 ''Ireland on Sunday'', the Irish Sunday newspaper acquired by Associated in 2001, was replaced by an Irish edition of the ''Mail on Sunday'' (the ''Irish Mail on Sunday''), to tie in with the weekday newspaper.

Continental and Overseas Daily Mail

Two foreign editions were begun in 1904 and 1905; the former titled the "Overseas Daily Mail", covering the world, and the latter titled the "Continental Daily Mail", covering Europe and North Africa.

''Mail Today''

The newspaper entered India on 16 November 2007 with the launch of ''Mail Today'', a 48-page compact size newspaper printed in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida with a print run of 110,000 copies. Based around a subscription model, the newspaper has the same fonts and feel as the Daily Mail and was set up with investment from Associated Newspapers and editorial assistance from the ''Daily Mail'' newsroom.

Libel lawsuits

The ''Daily Mail'' has been involved in a number of notable libel suits. Among them are:

2010, July—£47,500 award to Parameswaran Subramanyam for falsely claiming that he secretly sustained himself with hamburgers during a 23-day hunger strike in Parliament Square to draw attention to the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. 2009, January—£30,000 award to Dr Austen Ivereigh, who had worked for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, following false accusations made by the newspaper concerning abortion. 2006, May—£100,000 damages for Elton John, following false accusations concerning his manners and behaviour. 2003, October—Actress Diana Rigg awarded £30,000 in damages over a story commenting on aspects of her personality. 2001, February—Businessman Alan Sugar was awarded £100,000 in damages following a story commenting on his stewardship of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Editorial stance

In the late 1960s, the paper went through a phase of being liberal on social issues like corporal punishment, but soon returned to its traditional conservative line. In Tony Blair's early years as Labour leader and then Prime Minister, the paper wrote positively about him and his reforms of the party.

The editorial stance changed to become critical of Tony Blair in his later years as Prime Minister, and the ''Mail'' endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2005 general election. Writing for the ''New Statesman'', Johann Hari accused columnist Richard Littlejohn of having a "psychiatric disorder" about homosexuality with a "pornographic imagination."

The paper is generally critical of the BBC, which it says is biased to the left. The ''Mail'' has also opposed the growing of genetically-modified crops in the United Kingdom, a stance it shares with many of its left-wing critics.

On international affairs, the ''Mail'' broke with the establishment media consensus over the 2008 South Ossetia war between Russia and Georgia. The ''Mail'' accused the British government of dragging Britain into an unnecessary confrontation with Russia and of hypocrisy regarding its protests over Russian recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia's independence, citing the British government's own recognition of Kosovo's independence from Russia's ally Serbia.

Melanie Philips, once known as a voice for The Guardian and New Statesman moved to the right in the 1990s, writes for the ''Daily Mail'', covering political and social issues from a conservative perspective. She has defined herself as a liberal who has "been mugged by reality".

Famous stories

''The Daily Mail'''s front page of 8 July 1934, featured the headline "Hurrah for the Blackshirts". The ''Mail'' also referred to Hitler's "sturdy young Nazis".

On 7 January 1967, the ''Mail'' published a story, "The holes in our roads", about potholes, giving the examples of Blackburn where it said there were 4,000 holes. This detail was then immortalised by John Lennon in the Beatles song "A Day in the Life", along with an account of the death of 21-year-old socialite Tara Browne in a car crash on 18 December 1966, which also appeared in the same issue.

On 16 July 1993 the ''Mail'' ran the headline "Abortion hope after 'gay genes' finding"; this headline has been widely criticised in subsequent years, for example as "perhaps the most infamous and disturbing headline of all" (of headlines from tabloid newspapers commenting on the Xq28 gene).

The ''Mail'' campaigned on the case of Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager who was murdered in a racially motivated attack in Eltham, London in April 1993. On 14 February 1997, the ''Mail'' led its front page with a picture of the five men accused of Lawrence's murder and the headline "MURDERERS", stating that it believed that the men had murdered Lawrence and adding "if we are wrong, let them sue us". This attracted praise from Paul Foot and Peter Preston.

On 9 October 2009 the ''Mail'' ran the headline "Hunger striker's £7m Big Mac: Tamil who cost London a fortune in policing was sneaking in fast-food" The article stated that "Scotland Yard surveillance teams using specialist monitoring equipment had watched in disbelief" as Parameswaran Subramaniyan, a Tamil hunger striker protesting outside the Houses of Parliament, covertly broke his fast by secretly eating McDonald's burgers. When a request for an apology and retraction of this story was refused, Mr Subramanyam issued proceedings against the paper. In court, the newspaper's claim was shown to be entirely false; the Met superintendent in charge of the policing operation confirmed there had been no police surveillance team using the "specialist monitoring equipment". As a result, on 29 July 2010, Mr Subramanyam is understood to have accepted damages of £47,500 from the Daily Mail. The newspaper also paid his legal costs, withdrew the allegations and apologised "sincerely and unreservedly" for the distress that had been caused.

A 16 October 2009 Jan Moir article on the death of Stephen Gately, which many people felt was inaccurate, insensitive, and homophobic, generated over 25,000 complaints, the highest number of complaints for a newspaper article in the history of the Press Complaints Commission. Major advertisers such as Marks and Spencer responded to the criticism by asking for their own adverts to be removed from the ''Mail Online'' webpage around Moir's article. The ''Daily Mail'' removed all display ads from the webpage with the Gately column.

Supplements and features

{| |-valign=top |width=50%| ''Daily Mail'' ''City & Finance'' – City & Finance is the business part of the Daily Mail, and the Financial Mail is the business paper free with the Mail on Sunday. City & Finance features City News and the results from the London Stock Exchange, and also has its own website called ''This is Money''.

''Travelmail'' – Contains travel articles, advertisements etc.

''Femail'' – Femail is an extensive part of the ''Daily Mail'''s newspaper and website, being one of four main features on Mail Online others being News, TV & Showbiz and Sport. It is designed for women.

''Weekend'' – The ''Daily Mail Weekend'' is a TV guide published by the ''Daily Mail'', included free with the ''Mail'' every Saturday. Weekend magazine, launched in October 1993, is issued free with the Saturday ''Daily Mail''. The guide does not use a magazine-type layout but chooses a newspaper style similar to the ''Daily Mail'' itself. In April 2007, the "Weekend" had a major revamp. A feature changed during the revamp was a dedicated Freeview channel page.

|width=50%|

''Mail on Sunday''

''Financial Mail on Sunday'' – now part of the main paper, this section includes the Financial Mail Enterprise, focusing on small business.

''You'' – ''You'' magazine is a women's magazine featured in the ''Mail on Sunday''. It is a mix of in-depth features plus fashion, beauty advice, practical insights on health and relationships, food recipes and interiors. The ''Mail'' markets it, with ''Live'' magazine, as the only paper to have a magazine for him (''Live'') and for her (''You''). The ''Mail on Sunday'' is read by over six million a week. ''Live'' – this magazine is aimed at men. The main features are columns by well-known people.

''Mail on Sunday 2'' This pullout includes review, featuring articles on the arts, books and culture and it consists of reviews of all media and entertainment forms and interviews with sector personalities, property, travel and health.

''Sportsmail'' – on the back pages of the ''Mail''. It features different sports including an emphasis on alternative sports such as darts and snooker.

''Football Mail on Sunday'' – this reviews Premier League, Championship and Football League games from Saturday as well certain international games.

|}

Regular cartoon strips

''Garfield''

''I Don't Believe It'' (discontinued)

''Odd Streak''

''The Strip Show''

''Chloe and Co.'' (by Knight Features)

''Up and Running'' (by Knight Features)

''The Gambols'' (Sunday, in the Cartoons section)

''Fred Basset''

''Peanuts'' (Sunday, in the Cartoons section)

Current cartoon strips that are in the ''Daily Mail'' include ''Garfield'' which moved from the ''Daily Express'' in 2006 and is also included in ''The Mail on Sunday''. ''I Don't Believe It'' is another 3/4 part strip, written by Dick Millington. ''Odd Streak'' and ''The Strip Show'', which is shown in 3D are one part strips. ''Up and Running'' is a strip distributed by Knight Features and ''Fred Basset'' follows the life of the dog of the same name in a two part strip in the ''Daily Mail'' since 8 July 1963. ''The Gambols'' are another feature in the ''Mail on Sunday''.

The long-running ''Teddy Tail'' cartoon strip, was first published on 5 April 1915 and was the first cartoon strip in a British newspaper. It ran for over 40 years to 1960, spawning the ''Teddy Tail League'' Children's Club and many annuals from 1934 to 1942 and again from 1949 to 1962. Teddy Tail was a mouse, with friends Kitty Puss (a cat), Douglas Duck and Dr. Beetle. Teddy Tail is always shown with a knot in his tail.

Online media

The ''Daily Mail'' and ''The Mail on Sunday'' publish most of their news online in a service called the Mail Online which is viewed daily by nearly 3 million users. Most of the site can be viewed for free and without registration, though some services require users to register.

Contributors

Notable regular contributors (present)

{|width=100% |-valign=top |width=25%| Journalists

Claire Bates

Craig Brown

Alex Brummer

Julie Burchill

Rebecca Camber

Patrick Collins

Derek Draper

Sam Greenhill

Roy Hattersley

Liz Jones

|width=25%|

Des Kelly

Lester Middlehurst

Tom Kelly

Ann Leslie

Quentin Letts

Richard Littlejohn

Edward Lucas

David Mellor

Jan Moir

Julie Moult

|width=25%|

Melanie Phillips

Graham Poll

Paul Sheehan

Norman Tebbit

Michael Winner

Stephen Wright

Janet Street-Porter

|width=25%|

Cartoonists

Alex Graham

Stanley McMurtry

Photographers

Dave Parker

Mark Richards

Jamie Wiseman

|}

Past writers

Paul Callan

William Comyns Beaumont (left in 1903 to create ''The Bystander'')

Anthony Cave Brown (worked from mid-1950s to mid-1960s, won "Reporter of the Year" award in 1958)

Nigel Dempster

Simon Heffer (left in 2005 to join the ''Daily Telegraph'')

Percy Izzard Gardening and country life correspondent for over 50 years.

Ralph Izzard Journalist, author, adventurer and one time Berlin Bureau Chief, Izzard was a staff writer for the ''Mail'' beginning in 1931 and continued contributing until his death in 1992, with the only interruption being his service in British Naval Intelligence during WWII.

Paul Johnson (left the ''Mail'' in 2001)

John Junor

Lynda Lee-Potter (wrote for the ''Mail'' from 1967 until her death in 2004)

William Le Queux A prolific writer of invasion literature in the pre-First World War period. Valentine Williams (1883–1946) General news correspondent and, during the First World War, chief of the ''Daily Mail'' war service. Later a popular mystery novelist.

Keith Waterhouse

Ian Wooldridge, a sportswriter on the paper from 1961 until his death in 2007

Political allegiance

The Daily Mail is a traditional supporter of the Conservative Party, although it did back Tony Blair's "New Labour" in the 2001 general election, where they were re-elected by a landslide.

Editors

:1896: S. J. Pryor :1899: Thomas Marlowe :1922: W. G. Fish :1930: Oscar Pulvermacher :1930: William McWhirter :1931: W. L. Warden :1935: Arthur Cranfield :1939: Bob Prew :1944: Sidney Horniblow :1947: Frank Owen :1950: Guy Schofield :1955: Arthur Wareham :1959: William Hardcastle :1963: Mike Randall :1966: Arthur Brittenden :1971: David English :1992: Paul Dacre

Source: D. Butler and A. Sloman, ''British Political Facts, 1900–1975'' p. 378

See also

''Daily Chronicle'', a newspaper which merged with the ''Daily News'' to become the ''News-Chronicle'' and was finally absorbed by the ''Daily Mail''

1910 London to Manchester air race

Notes

References

External links

''Mail Online''

Category:Daily Mail and General Trust Category:Publications established in 1896 Category:Newspapers published in the United Kingdom Category:British media Category:Edwardian era Category:1896 establishments in the United Kingdom *

af:Daily Mail (Suid-Afrika) ca:Daily Mail cy:Daily Mail da:Daily Mail de:Daily Mail es:Daily Mail eo:Daily Mail fr:Daily Mail it:Daily Mail nl:Daily Mail ja:デイリー・メール no:Daily Mail pms:Daily Mail pl:Daily Mail pt:Daily Mail ro:Daily Mail ru:Daily Mail simple:Daily Mail fi:Daily Mail sv:Daily Mail tl:Daily Mail tr:Daily Mail ur:ڈیلی میل

Name	László Kövér
Office	Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary
Term start	6 August 2010
Predecessor	Pál Schmitt
Birth date	December 29, 1959
Birth place	Pápa, Hungary
Party	Fidesz
Profession	politician, jurist
Religion	}}

László Kövér (born on 29 December 1959 in Pápa) is a Hungarian politician. He was a founding member of Fidesz from 1988, and he served as Minister without portfolio for the Civilian Intelligence Services during the Viktor Orbán administration. In 2000 he was appointed leader of the party but Kövér resigned from his position in the next year.

He was elected Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary on 22 July 2010. Kövér took the position on 6 August, after his predecessor, Pál Schmitt, replaced László Sólyom as President of Hungary.

References

Biography

Biography

Category:Members of the National Assembly of Hungary Category:Speakers of the National Assembly of Hungary Category:Secret ministers of Hungary Category:Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union politicians Category:Hungarian politicians Category:People from Pápa Category:Living people Category:1959 births

cs:László Kövér hu:Kövér László pl:László Kövér

Name	Viktor Orbán
Office	Prime Minister of Hungary4th and 8th Prime Minister of the Third Republic of Hungary
President	László SólyomPál Schmitt
Term start	29 May 2010()
Predecessor	Gordon Bajnai
President2	Árpád GönczFerenc Mádl
Term start2	8 July 1998
Term end2	27 May 2002()
Predecessor2	Gyula Horn
Successor2	Péter Medgyessy
Birth date	May 31, 1963
Birth place	Székesfehérvár, Hungary
Party	Fidesz
Spouse	Anikó Lévai (1986-)
Profession	Lawyer
Alma mater	Eötvös Loránd UniversityPembroke College, Oxford
Religion	Calvinism
Children	RáhelGáspárSáraRózaFlóra
Website	http://orbanviktor.hu }}

Viktor Orbán (''Orbán Viktor'', ; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian centre-right conservative politician and current Prime Minister of Hungary. He was also Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002 and is currently the leader of Fidesz, which in alliance with the Christian Democratic People's Party in the 2010 elections won 52.73% of the votes and a two thirds majority (supermajority) of seats in the parliament of Hungary.

Background

He was born on 31 May 1963 in Székesfehérvár and spent his childhood in two nearby villages, Alcsútdoboz and Felcsút. In 1977 his family moved to Székesfehérvár.

Orbán graduated from secondary school, at which he studied English language, in 1981. In the two year period after that he completed his military service, then studied law at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. After graduating from that institution in 1987 he lived in Szolnok for the next two years, commuting to Budapest where he had a job as a sociologist at the Management Training Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

In 1991 Orbán received a scholarship from the Soros Foundation and spent a half year in Oxford, where he studied at Pembroke College.

Viktor Orbán is married to jurist Anikó Lévai. Orbán is a Calvinist Protestant, while maintaining good relations with the leaders of all the major churches in Hungary. Orbán and his wife have five children. He is very fond of sports, especially of football; he was a signed player of the Felcsút football team, and as a result he also appears in Football Manager 2006.

Political career

Orbán was a founding member of the Fidesz party (an acronym of ''FIatal DEmokraták SZövetsége'' which means "Alliance of Young Democrats" in Hungarian), which was formed on 30 March 1988. On 16 June 1989, Orbán gave a speech in Heroes' Square, Budapest, on the occasion of the reburial of Imre Nagy and other national martyrs of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. In his speech he demanded free elections and the withdrawal of Soviet troops. The speech brought him wide national and political acclaim. In the summer of 1989 he took part in the Opposition Roundtable negotiations.

In 1990 he became a member of the Hungarian parliament. Three years later, he became leader of Fidesz. In 1994, he transformed it from a social-liberal party (Fidesz was a member of Liberal International) into a right-wing conservative party after the collapse of the national right. In 1995 the party changed its name to Fidesz-MPP (Federation of Young Democrats – Hungarian Civic Party).

Orbán also holds the position of Vice President of the European People's Party (EPP) since October 2002.

First premiership (1998–2002)

Fidesz-MPP won the 1998 parliamentary elections with 42% of the national vote, in alliance with the remnants of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) (the backbone of Hungary's first democratically elected government from 1990–94), promising improvements in the welfare system as an antidote to the bitter austerity program of the outgoing coalition government of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ). Thus, Viktor Orbán became the second youngest Prime Minister of Hungary at 35 (after András Hegedüs), serving between 1998 and 2002.

Orbán's economic policy was aimed at cutting taxes and social insurance contributions over four years while reducing inflation and unemployment. Among its first measures the new government abolished university tuition fees and reintroduced universal maternity benefits. The government announced its intention to continue the Socialist-Liberal stabilization program and pledged to narrow the budget deficit, which had grown to 4.5% of the GDP. The previous Cabinet had almost completed the privatization of government-run industries and had launched a comprehensive pension reform. The Socialists had avoided two major socioeconomic issues, however - reform of the health care and the agricultural system, these remained to be tackled by Orbán's government.

The new government immediately launched a radical reform of state administration, reorganizing ministries and creating a super-ministry for the economy. In addition, the boards of the social security funds and centralized social security payments were dismissed. Following the German model, Orbán strengthened the prime minister's office and named a new minister to oversee the work of his Cabinet. In the process thousands of civil servants were replaced (no distinction is made between political and civil servant posts, resulting in a strong "winner takes all" practice). The overall direction was towards centralized control. Hungary gained substantial international exposure in May 1999 when, along with Poland and the Czech Republic, it joined NATO. Hungary was immediately called upon to make important decisions as an alliance member: the country opted to act as a passive participant in NATO's military intervention in Yugoslavia, its neighbour to the south, over the Kosovo crisis. This passive participation is widely seen as due to the poor state of the Hungarian armed forces.

Despite vigorous protests from the opposition parties, in February the government decided that plenary sessions of the unicameral National Assembly would be held only every third week. As a result, according to opposition arguments, parliament's legislative efficiency and ability to supervise the government were reduced. In late March the government's attempt to replace the National Assembly rule calling for a two-thirds majority vote with a simple majority, but this was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.

At the same time, the Orbán cabinet continued to strengthen the prime-minister-led political system and introduced the new institution of the constructive vote of no confidence.

The year saw only minor changes in top government officials. Two of Orbán's state secretaries in the prime minister's office had to resign in May because of their implication in a bribery scandal involving the U.S. military manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. In advance of bids on a major jet-fighter contract, the two secretaries, along with 32 other deputies of Orbán's party, had sent a letter to two U.S. senators to lobby for the appointment of a Budapest-based Lockheed manager to be the U.S. ambassador to Hungary. On August 31 the head of the Tax Office also resigned, succumbing to protracted attacks by the opposition on his earlier, allegedly suspicious, business dealings. The tug-of-war between the Budapest city council and the government continued over the latter's decision in late 1998 to cancel two major urban projects: the construction of a new national theatre and of the fourth subway line.

Economic successes included a drop in inflation from 15% in 1998 to 10.0% in 1999, 9.8% in 2000 and 7.8% in 2001. GDP growth rates were fairly steady: 4.4% in 1999, 5.2% in 2000, and 3.8% in 2001. The fiscal deficit fell from 3.9% in 1999, to 3.5% in 2000 and 3.4% in 2001 and the ratio of the national debt was reduced to 54 percent of GDP. Under the Orbán cabinet there were realistic hopes that Hungary would be able to join the Eurozone by 2009. However, negotiations for entry into the European Union slowed in the fall of 1999 after the EU included six more countries (in addition to the original six) in the accession discussions. Orbán repeatedly criticized the EU for its delay. As of Q4 2009, Hungary still does not meet the criteria for joining the Eurozone. Relations between the Fidesz-led coalition government and the opposition worsened in the National Assembly, where the two seemed to have abandoned all attempts at consensus-seeking politics. The government pushed to swiftly replace the heads of key institutions, e.g. the Hungarian National Bank chairman, the Budapest City Chief Prosecutor, and appointed partisan figures as heads of the H.N. Bank, the Hungarian Radio and Chief Prosecutor. While the opposition attempted to resist, e.g. by delaying their appointing of members of the supervising boards, the government simply ignored it and ran the institutions without the stipulated number of directors. In a similar vein PM Orbán failed to show up for question time in parliament, for periods of up to 10 months. His statements of the kind that "The parliament works without opposition too..." also contributed to the image of an arrogant and aggressive governance.

Orbán also came under criticism for pushing through an unprecedented two-year budget and for failing to curb inflation, which only dropped a half point, from 10% in 1999 to 9.5% in 2000, despite the tight fiscal policy of the Central Bank. Investments, however, continued to grow.

Numerous political scandals during 2001 led to a de facto, if not actual, breakup of the coalition that held power in Budapest. A bribery scandal in February triggered a wave of allegations and several prosecutions against the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP). The affair resulted in the ousting of József Torgyán from both the FKGP presidency and the top post in the Ministry of Agriculture. The FKGP disintegrated and more than a dozen of its MPs joined the government faction, which looked like a major coup for PM Orbán.

The level of public support for political parties generally stagnated, even with general elections coming in 2002. Fidesz and the main opposition Hungarian Socialist Party ran neck and neck in the opinion polls for most of the year, both attracting about 26% of the electorate. According to a September 2001 poll by the Gallup organization, however, support for a joint Fidesz – Hungarian Democratic Forum party list would run up to 33% of the voters, with the Socialists drawing 28% and other opposition parties 3% each. Meanwhile, public support for the FKGP plunged from 14% in 1998 to 1% in 2001. As many as 40% of the voters remained undecided, however. Although the Socialists had picked their candidate for prime minister — former finance minister Péter Medgyessy — the opposition largely remained, unable to increase its political support.

The dark horse of the election was the radical nationalist Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIÉP), with its leader István Csurka's radical rhetoric. MIÉP could not be ruled out as the key to a new term for Orbán and his party, should they be forced into a coalition after the 2002 elections.

Hungary attracted international media attention during the year for its passage of the s.c. "status law" concerning estimated three-million-strong ethnic Hungarian minorities in neighbouring (Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Ukraine). The law was aimed at providing education and health benefits as well as employment rights to those, and was said to heal the negative effects of the disastrous 1920 Trianon Treaty. Governments in neighbouring states, particularly Romania, claimed to be insulted by the law, which they saw as an interference in their domestic affairs. The proponents of the status law countered, that several countries criticizing the law have themselves similar constructs to provide benefits for their own minorities. Romania acquiesced after amendments following a December 2001 agreement between Orbán and Romanian prime minister Adrian Năstase; Slovakia accepted the law after further concessions made by the new government after the 2002 elections. A later report in March by the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists criticized the Hungarian government for improper political influence in the media as the country's public service broadcaster teetered close to bankruptcy.

The elections of 2002 were the most heated Hungary had experienced in more than a decade, and an unprecedented cultural-political division formed in the country. In the event, Viktor Orbán's group lost the April parliamentary elections to the opposition Hungarian Socialist Party, which set up a coalition with its longtime ally, the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats. Turnout was a record-high 73.5%.

Beyond these parties, only deputies of the Hungarian Democratic Forum made it into the National Assembly. The populist Independent Smallholders' Party and the right Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIÉP) lost all their seats. The number of political parties in the new assembly was therefore reduced from six to four.

MIÉP challenged the government's legitimacy, demanded a recount, complained of election fraud, and generally kept the country in election mode until the October municipal elections. The socialist-controlled Central Elections Committee ruled that a recount was unnecessary, a position supported by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose only substantive criticism of the election conduct was that the state television carried a consistent bias in favour of Fidesz.

In opposition (2002–2010)

Orbán was awarded the Freedom Award of the American Enterprise Institute and the New Atlantic Initiative (2001), the Polak Award (2001), the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (2001), the "Förderpreis Soziale Marktwirtschaft" (Price for the Social Market Economy, 2002) and the Mérite Européen prize (2004). In April 2004. he was awarded the Papal Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great.

In the 2004 European Parliament election, the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party was heavily defeated by the opposition conservative Fidesz. Fidesz gained 47.4% of the vote and 12 of Hungary's 24 seats. Some consider the election of Dr. László Sólyom as the new President of Hungary as the most recent success of the party. He was endorsed by Védegylet, an NGO including people from the whole political spectrum. His activity does not entirely overlap with the conservative ideals and he championed for elements of both political wings with a selective, but conscious choice of values. He was the candidate of Fidesz for the parliamentary election in 2006. Fidesz and its new-old candidate failed again to gain a majority in this election, which initially put Orbán's future political career as the leader of Fidesz in question. However, on fighting with socialist-liberal coalition, his position has been solidified again, and he was elected president of Fidesz yet again for another term in May 2007.

On 17 September 2006, an audio recording surfaced from a closed-door MSZP meeting which was held on 26 May 2006, in which Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány made a speech, notable for its obscene language. On November 1, Orbán and his party announced their plans to stage several large-scale demonstrations across Hungary on the anniversary of the Soviet suppression of the 1956 Revolution. The events were intended to serve be a memorial to the victims of the Soviet invasion and a protest against police brutality during the October 23 unrest in Budapest. Planned events included a candlelight vigil march across Budapest. However the demonstrations were small and petered out by the end of the year. The new round of demonstrations expected in the Spring of 2007 did not materialize.

On 1 October 2006, Fidesz won the municipal elections, which counterbalanced the Socialist Party (MSZP)-led government's power to some extent. Fidesz won 15 of 23 mayoralties in Hungary's largest cities—although its candidate narrowly lost the city of Budapest to a member of the Liberal Party—and majorities in 18 out of 20 regional assemblies.

A referendum on revoking government reforms which introduced doctor visit fees paid per visitation and medical fees paid per number of days spent in hospital as well as tuition fees in higher education took place in Hungary on 9 March 2008. Hungarian people usually call this popular vote social referendum.

The referendum was initiated by opposition party Fidesz against the ruling MSZP. The procedure for the referendum started on 23 October 2006, when Orbán announced they would hand in seven questions to the National Electorate Office, three of which (on abolishing co-payments, daily fees and college tuition fees) were officially approved on 17 December 2007 and called on 24 January 2008. It is assumed likely that the referendum will pass, but it is uncertain whether turnout will be high enough to make it valid; polls indicate about 40% turnout with 80% in favour of rescinding the three reforms.

In the 2009 European Parliament election, Fidesz had a big win, gaining 56.36% of the vote and 14 of Hungary's 22 seats.

Second premiership from 2010

The European Parliament election results of 2009 foreshadowed a decisive victory in the 2010 parliamentary elections, where Fidesz won the outright majority in the first round on April 11, winning 206 seats, including all 119 individual seats. After the second round of the elections they won a total of 263 seats in the parliament (out of 386), which is enough to change the Hungarian constitution. The new cabinet began working on legislation even before its inauguration. The sixth National Assembly was established on 14 May 2010. The representatives accepted a bill of dual citizenship, granting Hungarian citizenship to every Hungarian in the Carpathian basin and around the world, purportedly aimed at offsetting the harmful effects of the Treaty of Trianon, and sparking a controversy between Hungary and Slovakia. Though János Martonyi, the new foreign minister, visited his Slovak colleague to discuss the issue of dual citizenship, Robert Fico nonetheless stated that since Fidesz and the new government were not willing to negotiate the issue, which would be viewed as a question of national security. Ján Slota, Slovak government member and leader of the extreme right Slovak National Party, fears that Hungary wants to attack Slovakia and considered the situation as the "beginning of a war". As Prime Minister designate, Viktor Orbán firmly stated that he considers Slovak hysteria part of a political campaign. In response to the change in Hungarian citizenship law, the National Council of the Slovak Republic approved on 26 May 2010 a law stating that if a Slovak citizen applies for citizenship of another country then that person will lose his or her Slovakian citizenship. Orbán took the oath of office on 29 May 2010. With 261 votes, the Hungarian Parliament accepted him as leader of the ninth government since the end of communism. The opposition parties (MSZP, Jobbik and LMP) did not accept the cabinet's program (107 votes). His first international visit was to Poland, as a symbol of establishing a central European alliance. Polish-Hungarian friendship has a long historical tradition.

In the autumn of 2010, Parliament passed a new media bill, setting up a new media council. The new members were immediately accused of being politically attached to Fidesz, since all members were elected by the two-third parliamentary majority. Their authority to supervise media, issue decrees, and issue fines of up to 200 million forints was also questioned, though all decisions of the council can be appealed at the Independent Court. The bill was widely criticized as jeopardizing freedom of the press in Hungary, however no specific provisions were named.

The European Commission criticized Orbán's second cabinet for its lack of compliance with economic deficit goals in 2010 and 2011, the nationalization of the country's compulsory private pension scheme and the cutting of the salary of state employees, including the Hungarian National Bank's director, claiming the government potentially undermined the independence of that institution.

Orbán's cabinet is to hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union from January to July 2011. Concerns have been raised about its performance, relating to the controversial media law just passed in 2010, the Euroscepticism of the ruling coalition, and the lack of preparation of civil servants due to pervasive political patronage. Hungary's six-month presidency of Council launched in the European Parliament on 19 January 2011. Orbán put the economy at the top of the agenda for Hungary's six-month presidency of the Council of Ministers when he outlined his priorities to MEPs on Wednesday morning. The debate became quite heated at times as Orbán came in for criticism over Hungary's controversial media law. In 2010, a drafting process for a new constitution began to take place, was finalized by 11 April 2011, and was adopted by the Parliament on April 18. It was signed into law by Pál Schmitt on April 25 and will go into effect on 1 January 2012. The new constitution, called ''Magyarország Alaptörvénye'' (''Basic Law of Hungary''), contains an extended preamble called the National Creed which claims the period between 19 March 1944 (Nazi occupation of Hungary and 2 May 1990 (first free election since 1945) legally nonexistent.

The National Assembly passed a Fidesz constitutional amendment motion on 7 June 2011 that will effectively end early retirement for men. The amendment is primarily intended to send back to work retired law enforcement officers under 57 as well as those under 62 who are claiming invalidity benefits, but will not cut the preferential pensions of women, miners, chemists and artists. The Socialist Party declared its solidarity with the law enforcement unions and invited them to consultations to jointly formulate the basic principles that the Socialists could represent if they regain power. Jobbik said before the vote that it would appeal to the Constitutional Court on account of discrimination if law enforcement employees are deprived of their pensions. Law enforcement and fire services unions said they would go ahead with a planned demonstration for June 16 as talks with the prime minister on June 8 morning failed to bring an agreement over pension changes. Géza Pongó, head of the Independent Union of Police Employees, and Judit Bárdos, head of the Union of Law Enforcement Employees, agreed that the government’s proposal for pension changes is unacceptable. Two days earlier Orbán said in a TV interview concerning a series of demonstrations staged by trade unions of policemen, fire fighters, prison, guards and other employees in law-enforcement and disaster management, it was unacceptable if “''keepers of public order throw smoke bombs or damage fire hydrants, thus violating laws and making threats.''”

Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Prime Minister, arrived on a two-day official visit to Budapest on 24 June 2011. He was the first premier from China who visited Hungary since 1987 (when Hungary under communist rule yet). China will buy “a certain sum” of Hungarian government bonds and extend a one billion-euro credit line to Hungary, Wen Jiabao said in Budapest at a joint news conference with his Hungarian counterpart Orbán, who said Hungary had now entered into a new and major alliance with China. The meeting had also controversies: deputy chairperson of parliament’s human right’s committee Tímea Szabó has called for the leaders of Budapest’s police force to give evidence to the committee in connection with their handling of people who protested in support of Tibet. Szabó told MTI in a statement on 25 June that she would investigate personally on what basis the immigration authority (BAH) had called in to its office Tibetan refugees who were living in Hungary legally and had residential and work permits. The Politics Can Be Different (LMP) deeply condemns the police’s treatment of Tibetan refugees and activists demonstrating in support of Tibet. The Help Tibet Society wrote in a separate statement that staff of the BAH on 24 June evening had taken in to the BAH office Tibetan refugees living in Hungary. Further, police had blocked demonstrators from the site of a visit by the Chinese premier.

Viktor Orbán in the media

Viktor Orbán is usually depicted by foreign media as a mainstream Hungarian politician and mention his anti-communist past, while often labelling him a populist. They often voice economic concerns over his proposed growth-based economic reform ideas. In January 2007 ''The Economist'' criticised his "cynical populism and mystifyingly authoritarian socialist-style policies".

The most stormy incidents generating indignation happened in 2001. That April Magyar Hirlap made public a letter written by a reader that stated, "the killing of Orbán would do good to our nation". Also that month on TV channel RTL Klub, reporter Tamás Frei interviewed a Russian hitman, asking him for how much money would he kill the Hungarian prime minister (then Orbán). Right-wingers thought it a provocative question. Later it turned out that the interview person wasn't a real hitman, but an actor paid by Frei. After this scandal, RTL Klub apologised to Orbán, and the Luxembourgian owners of the channel began an inquiry. Frei subsequently lost his job (he now works at rival channel "TV2"). Political scientists and right-wing publicists call these phenomena "orban(o)phobia".

A further method for the less favourable depiction of Viktor Orbán in left-wing Hungarian media is to hold him up to ridicule. The left-wing Saturday-night roundtable TV jokeshow ''Heti Hetes'' (which was popular during Fidesz's term of office) spends a significant part of its air time making fun of Viktor Orbán and the attitude of his followers, which they consider sentimentally patriotic and folksy. Parody and criticism of Orbán were similarly strong and organized over the Internet, mostly during his time as prime minister. One of the popular ridicule tactics is to affix humorous nicknames to him, such as: A Zorbán (The Grim Orbán), see more (Zorb a small dwarf); Viktátor (Viktor-dictator); Alcsúti Törpe (Dwarf of Alcsút, the village where Orbán spent his childhood, because he is relatively short in stature), etc. Currently - as Orbán has much more sympathy with the general public than the left-wing leaders - he is much less parodied in such ways. Nowadays Ferenc Gyurcsány has similar status (especially since 2006's speech of Őszöd). Nowadays Orbán is criticized more seriously by the public for his endeavors to control the Hungarian media.

According to his supporters, the way the major Western organs present the Alliance of Young Democrats (FIDESZ) is often biased and distorted as their correspondents mainly rely on information obtained from leading Hungarian liberal intellectuals who are staunch supporters of the Socialists and the Free Democrats. In reality, Standard and Poor's, IMF and other financial institutions are both financially and politically independent from the left wing of Hungary, the way they criticise Orbán's politics is more probably the result of their own analysis of the situation and their independent simulation of the theoretical results of his party's stated intended economic actions. The current parliamentary support for the expenditure-cutting and economy stimulus package of the current Government of Experts intended for reducing the harmful effects of the World Economic Crisis prevents the dissolution of Parliament and holding of early elections, although the supporting parties have lost all political and moral legitimacy by now in the eyes of those FIDESZ-supporters who are considered by some to be enraged for believing the current tax-lowering, social expenditure-increasing proposals of his party, the implementation of which is expected to cause faster rising state-debt by the above-mentioned two financial institutions, which in turn would cause devaluation and increased inflation of the currency according to different intellectuels.

Trivia

He played the bit part of a footballer in the Hungarian family film ''Szegény Dzsoni és Árnika'' (1983).

Orbán has played soccer from early childhood; he is currently one of the players and main financiers of Hungarian football club Felcsút FC. He had a prominent role in the foundation of Ferenc Puskás Football Academy at Felcsút where can be found Hungarian football’s modern training facilities. His only son, Gáspár Orbán learns and trains here. FIFA president Sepp Blatter visited the facilities at the Puskás Academy in 2009. Blatter, together with the widow of Ferenc Puskás, as well as the founder of the Academy, Viktor Orbán, announced the creation of the new FIFA Puskás Award during that visit.

In a recent interview Orbán stated that his favorite band is Creedence Clearwater Revival.

References

External links

Official site

News from the BBC (2002)

Hungarian PM puts football first - BBC

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Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1963 births Category:Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Category:Calvinist politicians Category:Current national leaders Category:Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union politicians Category:Hungarian lawyers Category:Hungarian politicians Category:Hungarian Protestants Category:Hungarian Calvinists Category:Living people Category:Members of the National Assembly of Hungary Category:People from Fejér County Category:Prime Ministers of Hungary Category:20th-century_Hungarian_people Category:Hungarian footballers

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name	Vanessa Hudgens
background	solo_singer
birth name	Vanessa Anne Hudgens
alias
birth date	December 14, 1988
birth place	Salinas, California, United States
genre	Pop, dance
occupation	Actress, singer
years active	2002–present
label	Hollywood
website	VanessaHudgensOfficial.com }}

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer, who is best known for her portrayal of the character Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' series. She also earned critical acclaim for her role in the 2009 film ''Bandslam''.

As an actress, Hudgens has appeared in several television programs including ''Quintuplets'', ''Still Standing'', ''The Brothers García'', ''Drake & Josh'', and ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. She made her screen debut in the 2003 drama ''Thirteen'' as Noel. She got her first starring role in the 2004 science-fiction-adventure ''Thunderbirds'' as Tintin.

Hudgens' debut album ''V'' was released on September 26, 2006. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number twenty four, and was later certified Gold. Hudgens released her second album, ''Identified'', on July 1, 2008 in the U.S.

Hudgens' fame has also been marked by scandal caused by the release of private, self-taken nude photographs of herself on the Internet without her permission on several occasions. Since a third and anonymous release of these images, the FBI is now investigating these leaked photos in an attempt to find the source in connection with similar investigations regarding such hackings around altogether about 50 Hollywood celebrities.

Early life

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, and lived all over the West Coast — from Oregon to Southern California — with her parents, Gina (née Guangco), who held a succession of office jobs, and Gregory Hudgens, a firefighter. She was raised as a Roman Catholic and has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. Hudgens is of mixed cultural background, as her father is of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, a native of Manila, is of Chinese-Filipino-Spanish descent. Two of her grandparents were musicians.

Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of ''Carousel'', ''The Wizard of Oz'', ''The King and I'', ''The Music Man'', and ''Cinderella'', among others. Two years after her career in stage plays and musicals, she started auditioning for commercials and television shows, and her family moved to Los Angeles after she won a role in a television commercial. Her acting career started at the age of 15, and she briefly attended Orange County High School of the Arts, followed by homeschooling with tutors.

Acting career

In 2003, Hudgens played a minor role in the independent drama film ''Thirteen'', where she plays Noel, a friend of a lead character (Tracy, played by Evan Rachel Wood). The film was critically successful, receiving generally favorable reviews, and its receipts surpassed its $4 million budget. Hudgens subsequently landed a role in the 2004 science fiction-adventure film ''Thunderbirds'' as Tintin. Unfortunately, the film was commercially and critically unsuccessful, and received heavy criticism through the Internet prior to its release.

In late 2005 Hudgens appeared in television shows such as ''Quintuplets'', ''Still Standing'', ''The Brothers García'', ''Drake & Josh'', and ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''.

In late 2005 she landed her breakout role of shy and meek Gabriella Montez in ''High School Musical'', opposite to Zac Efron. Her performance received numerous nominations and awards. With the success of the film, the ''BBC'' predicted that Hudgens would be a "household name" in the US.

In 2007, Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella Montez in the sequel of ''High School Musical'', ''High School Musical 2''. Virginia Heffernan of ''TV Review'' described Hudgens in her performance in the movie as "matte" as she "glows like a proper ingénue".

Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella Montez in ''High School Musical 3: Senior Year''. Her performance in the film made her win favorite movie actress in the 2009 Kids Choice Awards.

Post-''High School Musical'', Hudgens remarked that she will focus in her acting and films, while "taking a break" from her music career as a solo artist. She played a supporting role in a musical comedy ''Bandslam'', which was released theatrically on August 14, 2009. Hudgens plays "Sa5m", a 15-year-old awkward freshman with untapped talents. Although ''Bandslam'' was commercially unsuccessful, Hudgens's performance received praise from critics. David Waddington of the ''North Wales Pioneer'' noted that Hudgens "outshines the rest of the cast, failing to fit in with the outcast narrative and making the inevitable climactic ending all the more expected," and Philip French of ''The Guardian'' compared her acting to Thandie Newton and Dorothy Parker.

Hudgens performed a musical number with other artists during the 81st Academy Awards. Hudgens later provided voice roles in an episode of Robot Chicken. Hudgens' involvement in ''Beastly'', a film based on Alex Flinn's novel of the same name, was announced in early 2009. She played one of the main characters in the film as Linda Taylor, described by Hudgens as the "beauty" of the story but not the stereotypical beauty everyone thinks of. Along with ''Beastly'' co-star, Alex Pettyfer, Hudgens was recognized as ''ShoWest'' stars of Tomorrow. Hudgens was later cast in an action film directed by Zack Snyder, ''Sucker Punch,'' playing Blondie, an institutionalized girl in an asylum, which was released in March 2011.

After so many years, Hudgens returned to theater productions wherein she starred in the musical ''Rent'' as Mimi. The stage production ran from August 6–8, 2010 at the Hollywood Bowl. Her involvement in the production drew negative comments, but director Neil Patrick Harris defended his decision with casting Hudgens by saying, "Vanessa [Hudgens] is awesome. She's a friend. I asked her to come in and sing to make sure she had the chops for it. And she was very committed and seemed great."

In October 2010, it was announced that Hudgens will be joining the sequel to the 2008 film ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' alongside Dwayne Johnson and Josh Hutcherson, playing Hutcherson's love interest. In April 2011, it was reported that she would star in an indie film, ''Gimme Shelter'' with Brendan Fraser, written and directed by Ron Krauss.

Music career

Hudgens received a recording contract with Hollywood Records. On September 2006 her debut album entitled ''V'' was released. It charted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number twenty-four, and was certified Gold on February 27, 2007. Her first single, "Come Back to Me" became her highest-charting single. Her second single was "Say OK". ''Billboard'' readers chose "V" as the seventh best album of the year. Hudgens was named Female Breakout Singer of the year at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards.

Hudgens also participated in the nationwide ''High School Musical: The Concert'' tour in fall 2006, performing the songs from the soundtrack album as well as the three songs from her debut album. She sang the duet "Still There For Me" with Corbin Bleu for his debut album.

In December 2007, she sang to George Bush, who was then the president of the U.S., and his family, at The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. with other singers at a Christmas event.

Her second album, ''Identified,'' which received generally favorable reviews, was released on July 1, 2008, debuting at #23 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album's lead single was "Sneakernight", which was a moderate commercial success, peaking at #88 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #94 on the Australian Singles Chart. Hudgens's ''Identified Summer Tour'' began on August 1, 2008 and ended on September 9 of the same year.

Image and personal life

Her height is . ''Us Weekly'' said Hudgens and her ''High School Musical'' series co-star Zac Efron "met in 2005 while making the first ''High School Musical'' flick, and became a romantic item about two years later." The two were paired together during the audition process and got the part because of their chemistry. The two ended their relationship in December 2010.

In 2006, Hudgens's earnings were estimated to be $2 million. Hudgens was included in ''Forbes'' richest list in early 2007, and the ''Forbes'' article noted that she was included in ''Young Hollywood's Top Earning-Stars''. On December 12, 2008, Hudgens was ranked #20 in the list of ''Forbes'' "High Earners Under 30", having reported to have an estimated earnings of $3 million in 2008. She was number 62 at ''FHM''s Sexiest Women in the World of 2008 and number 42 in the 2009 list. Hudgens is also featured in ''Maxim''s lists. She was included in ''People'' annual "100 Most Beautiful People" 2008 and 2009 lists.

Hudgens was represented by William Morris Agency but she signed on to Creative Artists Agency in 2011. Hudgens also promotes Neutrogena and was the 2008 featured celebrity for Sears' back-to school campaign. She was a spokesperson for Mark Ecko products. But in late 2009, she ended the 2-year contract with Ecko products. Hudgens regularly volunteers for charitable activities, including those for Best Buddies International, Lollipop Theater Network, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. Hudgens is also featured in ''A Very Special Christmas Vol.7'' disc which benefits the Special Olympics. Hudgens is also part of the "Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C): Change The Odds" along with other Hollywood stars including Zac Efron, Dakota Fanning, Kristen Bell, and others.

On September 6, 2007, photos of Hudgens appeared online, one showing her posing in lingerie and another showing her nude. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was unfortunate that they were released on the Internet. Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken [those] photos." Hudgens subsequently released a statement indicating that she declined to comment further on the scandal. ''OK!'' magazine speculated that Hudgens would be dropped from ''High School Musical 3'' as a result of the images. The Walt Disney Company denied the reports, saying, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."

In August 2009, a new set of pictures showing Hudgens topless emerged on the Internet. Hudgens's representatives did not comment, though her lawyers requested the removal of the pictures from the Internet. In late 2009, Hudgens sued "www.moejackson.com" for posting nude 'self-portrait photographs' of her taken on a mobile phone in a private home. Hudgens later commented on the photos' impact on her career in the October issue of ''Allure'' with, "Whenever anybody asks me, would I do nudity in a film, if I say that it's something I'm not comfortable with, they're like, 'Bullshit, you've already done it.' If anything, it makes it more embarrassing, because that was a private thing. It's screwed up that someone screwed me over like that. At least some people are learning from my mistake." According to ''Us Weekly'', further pictures were released on the internet March 15, 2011 as well as a nude video. Some of the released images involved another female celebrity, Alexa Nikolas, the 18-year old star of ''Zoey 101''.

Brian Schall sued Hudgens in 2007 for an alleged "breach of contract"; according to the suit, Schall claims he advanced costs and expenses on Hudgens's behalf for her songwriting and recording career. Schall claims Hudgens owed him $150,000 after helping her earn more than $5 million for her music career. Hudgens argues that she was underage to sign her contract in October 2005 as she was just 16 then. She subsequently disaffirmed it on October 9, 2008. Papers filed in court by her lawyer say California's Family Code "provides that the contract of a minor is voidable and may be disaffirmed before (age 18) or within a reasonable time afterward." In 2008, Hudgens was sued by Johnny Vieira, who claims he was owed a share of Hudgens' advances, royalties and merchandising revenue in exchange for his management services. Vieira accuses Hudgens of abandoning her talent team as soon as she became a commercial name in the ''High School Musical'' era. In early May 2009, the case was settled.

Filmography

+ Theatrical films	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2003		Noel
2004			Main character
2008	''High School Musical 3: Senior Year''	Gabriella Montez	Lead role, Disney Channel Original Movie
2009	''Bandslam''	Sa5m
2011
2011		Blondie
2012	''Journey 2: The Mysterious Island''	Kailani	Post-Production
2012		Apple	Post-Production

+ Television films	! Year	! Title	! Role	! Channel
2006	''High School Musical''	Gabriella Montez	Disney Channel
2007	''High School Musical 2''	Gabriella Montez	Disney Channel

+ Television	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2002		Tiffany	"Still Rocking" (Season 1: Episode 4)
2002	''Robbery Homicide Division''	Nicole	"Had" (Season 1: Episode 10)
2003	''The Brothers Garcia''	Lindsay	"New Tunes" (Season 4: Episode 37)
2005	''Quintuplets''	Carmen	"The Coconut Kapow" (Season 1: Episode 22)
2006	''Drake & Josh''	Rebecca	"Little Sibling" (Season 3: Episode 13)
2006	''The Suite Life of Zack and Cody''	Corrie	Season 2Recurring role
2009	''Robot Chicken''	Lara Lor-Van/Butterbear/Erin Esurance	"Especially the Animal Keith Crofford" (Season 4: Episode 19)

Discography

''V'' (2006)

''Identified'' (2008)

Theatre

''Rent'' – Mimi Marquez (Hollywood Bowl, 2010)

Awards and nominations

Year !! Award !! Category !! Result !! Link
2006		"Best Actress – Television"
2006	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice TV Chemistry" (shared with Zac Efron)
2006	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice TV Breakout Star"
2007	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Music: Breakout Artist – Female"
2007	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actress
	2008	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Hottie"
2009	Kids Choice Awards	"Favorite Movie Actress"
2009	MTV Movie Awards	"Breakthrough Female Performance"
2009	MTV Movie Awards	"Best Kiss" (shared with Zac Efron)
2009	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Movie Actress: Music/Dance"
2009	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Zac Efron)
2009	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Hottie"
2010	ShoWest	"Female Star Of Tomorrow"
2011	People's Choice Awards	"Favorite Movie Star Under 25"
2011	Teen Choice Awards	"Red Carpet Fashion Icon - Female"
2011	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Alex Pettyfer)

References

External links

Category:1988 births Category:Actors from California Category:American actors of Asian descent Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American musicians of Asian descent Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:American musicians of Filipino descent Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:American people of Filipino descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:American pop singers Category:American television actors Category:English-language singers Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Musicians from California Category:Living people Category:People from Salinas, California

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