Zoltán Illés (Subotica/Szabadka, Serbia, 1961) is State Secretary for the Environment in the Hungarian Ministry of Justice and Regional Development. He graduated from the Budapest Technical University and Eötvös Loránd University with degrees in Chemistry and Biology. He spent 18 months at Yale University from 1987, and also studied at the University of North Carolina in 1995. He was an active member of the Danube Circle environmental group during his student years, in the ultimately successful fight to prevent the construction of a hydroelectric dam across the Danube at Nagymaros. He joined Fidesz after the political changes, and has been active in the party as a champion of Green politics ever since. He has been a Parliamentary deputy for Fidesz since 1994, currently representing the 6th district of Budapest.