János Árpád Potápi was born on March 28, 1967 in Bonyhád. In 1991, he graduated as an elementary school teacher majoring in Hungarian history in Szeged, and in 1994 he obtained a secondary school history teacher qualification at the Eötvös Loránd University.

He taught first in Szeged, then from 1993 at the Sándor Petőfi Evangelical High School in Bonyhád. Árpád János Potápi was the president of the National Association of Bukovina Székelys from 1998 to 2011. He was mayor of Bonyhád from 2002 to 2014. From 1998, he was a member of the Fidesz Parliament, between 2011 and 2014 he was the chairman of the National Cohesion Committee of the Parliament, and since 2014 he was the State Secretary in charge of Policies for Hungarian Communities Abroad Prime Minister’s Office.

János Árpád Potápi, as a key figure in national politics, has repeatedly attended the events of the Friends of Hungary Foundation, where he reported on the results of his work in the name of national unity. Thanks to his ten years of activity, a system of national political institutions was created with hundreds of foreign organizations, as well as closer ties with Hungarians in the diaspora. He worked persistently to ensure that the Hungarian state provided continuous and predictable support to the institutions of Hungarians living outside the border. As he said: It is up to us, together with our allies, to protect the values that are important to us. It is also up to us to promote our nation’s reputation in the world by proudly embracing the achievements and perspectives of Hungarians.

The death of János Árpád Potápi is a great loss for us, Hungarians all over the world loved his direct personality and tireless work.

We send our sincere condolences to his family.