Born on June 11, 1959 in Celldömölk in Vas County. In 1983 he graduated from the Technical University of Budapest, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Manufacturing Systems. He is member of the Chamber of Engineers and of the Hungarian Society of Economics.  

In 1989 he was the founding president of the Leftist Youth Association. He has been a member of the national board of MSZP (Hungarian Socialist Party) since 1992, and a member of the national presidium since 1994. Since 2001 he has been the chairman of the Leftist Group Platform. He has been Member of Parliament since 1992 and represented Újpest (Budapest constituency no. 6) as an individual representative since 1994. He was the Minister for Labour between 1995 and 1998, Minister of Employment and Labour between 2002 and 2003 and subsequently the Minister of the Prime Minister?s Office between 2003 and 2006.
He has been the head of the Ministry of Social and Labour Affairs since June 2006 until July 2007.
Since July 2007 he is the Minister Leading the Prime Minister's Office.
He is married with one child.