Zoltán Balog (born 7 January 1958)[1] is a Hungarian Reformed bishop and former politician who served as Hungary's Minister of Human Resources from 2012 to 2018.

[1] He was a member of the National Assembly (MP) from 2006 to 2018 for the national-conservative Fidesz party,[8] serving as chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Minority, Civic and Religious Affairs between 2006 and 2010.

Some months before the 2017 Hungarian presidential election, in December 2016, the opposition ATV channel claimed that Balog had been selected by Orbán and the Fidesz party leadership to succeed János Áder as president of Hungary, even though Áder was eligible for reelection.

[12] On 5 January 2017, it was reported that several Fidesz leaders, primarily Kövér and Gergely Gulyás, had convinced Orbán at a meeting in Dobogókő to reelect Áder after all.

[13] On 23 April 2018, Balog announced he would step down as minister of Human Resources, reportedly over disagreements with Orbán about the "superministry" system.

[15] On November 5, 2020, Zoltán Balog was elected bishop of the Dunamellék diocese of the Hungarian Reformed Church.

[16][17] At his inauguration on January 25, 2021, he officially took over the episcopal office from his predecessor, István Szabó, who led the diocese for 18 years.

[25][26] In February 2024, Balog became implicated in the "pardon affair" (Hungarian: kegyelmi-ügy) that led to his erstwhile mentee Katalin Novák's resignation as president of Hungary.

Balog had allegedly pressured Novák to grant a presidential pardon to Endre Kónya, who hails from a prominent Reformed family and had been convicted of covering up child molestation at an orphanage in Bicske.

[29] An informal advisory council convoked to address the matter affirmed Balog's leadership of the Reformed Church by secret ballot on the same day, although it asked him "to weigh the extent to which his taking a role in public life is compatible with the synodal presidency.

"[30][31] Facing growing political pressure from Fidesz and from within the church, however, he resigned from the synodal presidency on 16 February 2024.