Péter Várkonyi

Péter Várkonyi (1985)

Péter Várkonyi (born April 3, 1931 in Budapest ; † October 15, 2008 ) was a Hungarian journalist and politician of the party of the Hungarian working people MDP (Magyar Dolgozók Pártja) and later of the Hungarian Socialist Workers Party MSZMP (Magyar Szocialista Munkáspárt) , who between 1983 and in 1989 was Secretary of State and Ambassador to the United States .

Life

Várkonyi, son of a printing plant worker, completed after the conclusion of the Árpád - Gymnasium in 1949 a six-month course at a cadre school. While still attending school, he became a member of the Hungarian Working People's Party in 1948 and in 1949 worked in the Ministry of Education. After graduating from diplomatic school, he entered the foreign service as a diplomat in May 1951 and initially worked for the embassy in the USA before a few months later he worked for the embassy in Great Britain . After a subsequent employment as a cultural attaché at the embassy in Egypt , he became head of the press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1958.

In 1961 Várkonyi briefly worked in the secretariat of Prime Minister Ferenc Münnich and then head of the secretariat of the Council of Ministers and then between 1965 and 1968 deputy head of the Department for Foreign Affairs of the Central Committee (ZK) of the MSZMP.

On June 1, 1968, he became head of the Information Office (Tájékoztatási Hivatal) of the Council of Ministers and headed it until April 11, 1980, where he had held the rank of State Secretary since May 12, 1971 . In 1969 he earned a doctorate in philosophy in the history department from the Eötvös Loránd University . By virtue of his office he was a member of the Central Committee for Agitation and Propaganda between 1970 and 1980 and was also elected a member of the Central Committee of the MSZMP on March 22, 1975.

In April 1980 Várkonyi became editor-in-chief of Népszabadság , the national daily newspaper with the highest circulation in Hungary, and held this position until June 1982. After that he was secretary of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Central Committee of the MSZMP.

Péter Várkonyi succeeded Frigyes Puja as Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of Hungary on July 8, 1983 and held this ministerial office until he was replaced by Gyula Horn on May 10, 1989. He also became a member of parliament on June 8, 1985 (Országgyűlés ) and represented the constituency of Budapest 14 until his resignation on September 26, 1989 . Furthermore, in December 1988 he became a member of the Central Committee for International Affairs, Law and Administration.

At the end of the People's Republic of Hungary, he was last ambassador to the USA from August 1989 to June 1990.

Web links

• Entry in Történelmi Tár (Hungarian)
• Hungary: Key Ministries (rulers.org)