Economy
U.S. President Trump nominates new Ambassador to Hungary
New Ambassador to Hungary, Senate hearing pending
David Cornstein of New York is to be nominated to be Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Hungary.Since Barack Obama’s political appointee Colleen Bell left Budapest after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the embassy has been led by Chargé d’Affaires David Kostelancik.
Cornstein is chairman of Pinnacle Advisors, Ltd and was previously CEO, president, and ultimately chairman emeritus of Finlay Enterprise, a billion-dollar NASDAQ Stock Exchange Company.
A native New Yorker, Cornstein served as chairman of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation and as vice chair of the city’s Economic Development Corporation. He was also chair of the New York State Olympic Games commission and a board member of the Battery Park City Authority and of the Jacob Javits Development Corporation.
He has been recognized as Man of the Year by the Chemotherapy Foundation and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. He earned his B.A. from Lafayette College and M.B.A from New York University.
Click here for Cornstein’s CV.
Appointment leaked
Pro-government newspaper Magyar Idők reported almost a month ago that Cornstein would be appointed U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. At that time, there was no official announcement whatsoever in Washington DC. The paper cited well-connected government sources, adding that Cornstein was selected right after Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó paid a visit to Washington.Hungarian Free Press reported there were several speculations as to how this leak was possible:
- “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán influenced selecting the “Jewish businessman" to help to clear his image. Orbán is accused of reviving the cult of Miklós Horthy, Hungary’s anti-Semitic, pro-Hitler leader.
- another article has connected 87-year-old Rabbi Arthur Schneier, an old Orbán supporter in New York, to Cornstein.
- Szijjártó, frequently discusses U.S. foreign policy issues with Sebastian Gorka, President Trump’s dismissed counterterrorism adviser. Gorka, who was unable to get security clearance and was later fired, claims to be an “insider" and in the past he openly attacked Mr. Tillerson’s State Department claiming that the Secretary of State is “nonsensical."
