U.S. Ambassador to Hungary resigns as of 1 November
It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the country that I love in a country that I have come to cherish, but our bilateral relationship is more than just one person, Cornstein said in a statement on the U.S. Embassy’s website.
“Working with the entire team at U.S. Embassy Budapest, both Americans and Hungarians, I am proud of how much we have accomplished together in strengthening our countries’ bonds as allies,” Cornstein said, adding that he will miss Hungary.
Interestingly, First Lady Melania Trump said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that she had received the U.S. Ambassador to Budapest last week in order to discuss the goals of the U.S. government, the state of the coronavirus pandemic, and U.S.-Hungarian relations.
Leaving after two years
The American businessman has been ambassador to Hungary for more than two years after appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Hungary. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 24 May 2018 and presented his credentials to the President of the Republic of Hungary on 25 June 2018.
“A lifelong New Yorker, David Cornstein has built a record of achievement as a businessman and leader. As Chairman and CEO, he helped build over a billion-dollar NASDAQ Stock Exchange Company and, in addition, at Off Track Betting – NYC, he turned around a failing government entity where he was Chairman for 16 years to make it effective, efficient, and very profitable,” his bio in the embassy website says.
Cornstein earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lafayette University and a Masters of Business Administration from New York University. He and his wife, Sheila, have two children and one grandson.
Cover photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Office/Benko Vivien Cher
