Zsuzsanna Szelényi is an author, researcher, former politician and Program Director of the CEU Democracy Institute Leadership Academy in Budapest. Zsuzsanna is running research, pro-democracy and leadership projects at the CEU Democracy Institute, focusing on polarized societies. As Richard von Weizsäcker fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy and Europe's Futures Fellowship of IWM she was conducting research on autocratization within the EU and wrote her book based on personal memories: Tainted Democracy, Viktor Orbán and the Subversion of Hungary. In 2014-2018 Zsuzsanna was a liberal Member of Parliament in Hungary dealing with foreign policy, migration and constitutional affairs. Between 1996-2010 she served at the Council of Europe and worked with NGOs and governments on democracy building, then worked with international organizations in North Africa. She was young political activist in Hungary in 1988, and served as Member of Parliament in Hungary for party Fidesz, which she left in 1994. Zsuzsanna completed GMAP of International Politics and Economics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, holds an MA of Psychology of ELTE Budapest and an MA of International Relations of Corvinus University.