Péter Medgyessy

Péter Medgyessy 2006

Péter Medgyessy [ ˈpeːtɛr ˈmɛɟːɛʃi ] (born October 19, 1942 in Budapest ) is a Hungarian politician and was Prime Minister of the country from May 27, 2002 to September 29, 2004 .

As the son of a diplomat, he grew up in the Romanian capital Bucharest . His father, the lawyer Béla Medgyessy, came from Cluj and was employed by the Hungarian embassy in Bucharest. His mother, Ibolya Szolga, was an interpreter. He returned to Hungary to attend middle school, where he graduated from the Petőfi Lyceum in Budapest. He then attended the Karl Marx University of Economics (today Corvinus University), where he received his doctorate in the Faculty of General Theory. From 1966 he worked as a consultant in the country's Ministry of Finance. In 1976 he became deputy head of the main department for international relations, in 1980 he became the main department head for economics and financial policy. From 1982 to 1986 he was Deputy Minister of Finance. In 1987 he was appointed finance minister to the cabinet of Károly Grósz's government and from that point on accompanied Hungary's transition to the free market economy. As early as December 1987, Grósz promoted him to deputy prime minister, an office that he also held in the government under Miklós Németh that followed from 1988 to 1990 . Between 1987 and 1989 he was a member of the Central Council of the Hungarian Socialist Workers Party (MSZMP, Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt ), the Communist Party of Hungary. When his party lost the elections in 1990 and had to hand over power to the Hungarian Democratic Forum under József Antall , he went into the private sector at the French Paribas Bank . This used the political turnaround to expand to Hungary and other countries in Eastern Europe. Medgyessy was also head of the Hungarian State Development Bank (MFB). In 1994 the socialists returned to government and after a cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Gyula Horn reappointed him as finance minister in 1996. After the end of the legislative period, he returned to the economy in 1998 and now worked for Inter-Europa Bank and Atlasz Insurance. In addition, taught at the Budapest Business School for several years .

In 2001, the Hungarian Socialists ( MSZP ) asked him to run as the top candidate in the 2002 parliamentary elections. After winning the election, he was sworn in as the new Prime Minister on May 27, 2002. He then announced an ambitious hundred-day program, through which the low wages of the public servants and the pensions of the pensioners were increased by 50%. At the same time, a single earner bonus was introduced and the scholarships for students increased. This 190 billion forint program was financed mainly through increased national debt. This met with resistance from the opposition, as well as from the coalition partner Bund Free Democrats (SZDSZ). In addition, soon after the beginning of his term of office, publications in the newspaper Magyar Nemzet revealed that he had worked for several years for counter-espionage of the State Security of Communist Hungary, the Államvédelmi Hatóság . During his reign, Hungary joined the EU on May 1, 2004. Constant quarrels between the two governing parties, MSZP and SZDSZ, as well as internal power struggles, especially with Foreign Minister and party leader László Kovács , ultimately resulted in poor results in the first Hungarian European elections in June, his resignation on September 29, 2004. His successor was his party colleague Ferenc Gyurcsány , who had negotiated a new coalition between socialists and the left-liberal SZDSZ behind Medgyessy's back.

A few months after his resignation, Gyurcsány appointed him as a traveling ambassador, following the American model. In this way, he represented Hungary's economic interests and tried to lure foreign investors into the country. During this time numerous privatizations of former Hungarian state-owned companies took place. After a dispute with Prime Minister Gyurcsány in the press, he was dismissed from this post and Medgyessy returned to private life. He is married to Katalin Csaplár for the second time. From his first marriage there were two biological children, the son Gergely and the daughter Ildikó. His stepdaughter Anita Tornóczky is a presenter on the private television channel TV2 . In addition to Hungarian, he speaks fluent Romanian and French and understands English and Russian .

Web links

Commons : Péter Medgyessy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Der Standard : Peter Medgyessy: Finanzfachmann became politician against his will , APA, August 19, 2004
2. ^ Stasiopfer.de: Crisis in Hungary: the head of government was a Stasi officer ( Oberösterreichische Nachrichten of June 20, 2002)
3. ↑ Der Standard: Medgyessy: "We are experiencing a great moment" , May 19, 2004
4. ↑ Der Standard: Shot in the own knee - Hungary's Prime Minister Medgyessy was practically pushed away by his own people , Gerhard Plott, August 31, 2004
5. ^ Munzinger personal database : Péter Medgyessy