Economy 17 November 2020, 11:44am

Hungary cenbank Monetary Council to have new member

Portfolio

One of the members of the Hungarian central bank's (MNB) Monetary Council is to tender his resignation today and the Parliament's Economic Committee is to hear a candidate for the post. According to Portfolio’s sources, the outgoing member is Gusztáv Báger whose mandate would expire next July, and he is to be replaced by Péter Gottfried, an old hand at the Foreign Ministry who served almost all governments since the change of regime and was also foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

As we reported earlier, Parliament's Economic Committee is to hold a meeting today, and one of the items on its agenda is the nomination of a new member to the MNB's Monetary Council.

As none of the current MPC members reached the end of their mandate, one of the members has most likely resigned. Portfolio has learned that the outgoing member is Gusztáv Báber and the incoming member is Péter Gottfried whose hearing will take place today.

The Monetary Council's current composition is as follows:

György Matolcsy, MNB Governor: appointed on 4 March 2019 for six years
Mihály Patai, MNB Deputy Governor: appointed on 22 April 2019
Csaba Kandrács, MNB Deputy Governor: appointed on 2 October 2019 for six years
Barnabás Virág, MNB Deputy Governor: appointed on 22 June 2020 for six years
Gusztáv Báger : appointed on 6 July 2015 for six years
Kolos Kardkovács: appointed on 12 September 2016 for six years
György Kocziszky: reappointed on 6 April 2017 for six years
Bianka Parragh: appointed on 23 March 2017 for six years
Gyula Pleschinger: appointed on 5 March 2019 for six years

Péter Gottfried's professional career:

He got his degree at the University of Economics in Budapest in 1978 and took an extension training as an economist between 1981 and 1983.
He was a cooperation trader ath Intercooperation Trade Development Corp. between 1978 and 1981.
Until 1983 he worked at the Customs and International Organisations Department of the Foreign Ministry.
Between 1983 and 1985, he was secretary at the Hungarian Representation to an economic organisation of the UN in Geneva, and
Until 1989 he worked for the Foreign Ministry and its legal successors.
Between 1989 and 1995, he worked at the Hungarian EU Representation in Brussels where he was charged with different assignments.
Starting in 1994 he was Chargé d' affaires in Brussels.
Between 1995 and 1996, Gottfried was Chair of the Office for European Affairs of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, titular state secretary.
Between 1996 and 1998, he was Deputy Head of State Secretariat for Integration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Between 1998 and 2002, he was State Secretary, Head of the State Secretariat for Integration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 2002, he was appointed deputy chief and then chief of the Foreign Trade Secretariat.
He was deputy state secretary at the Foreign Ministry between 2002 and 2005.
In 2005, he was appointed Chair of the Office of European Affairs, as titular state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office.
From 2010, he worked at the Prime Minister’s Office as foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.