Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky (born Szalay) is a Hungarian diplomat and politician who was the
ambassador of Hungary to the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2022. He handed over his credentials to queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
on 15 November 2016 in
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
. His wife is Alexandra Szentkirályi (Szalay-Bobrovniczky), government spokesperson. Since 2022, he has been the minister of defence of Hungary.
Biography
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky was born on 6 June 1970 in Budapest, Hungary.
His first known ancestor appears in a patent of 1286, one other was the representative to the national assembly in 1447. Most members of his family were military officers, county officials and land owners. All family property was confiscated under the communist oppression of Hungary.
He has one younger brother, Vince Szalay-Bobrovniczky, a career diplomat who currently serves in the Prime Minister’s Office as Deputy State Secretary and used to be Hungary’s ambassador to Finland and Estonia and earlier to Austria.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky graduated in 1993 from the University of Gödöllő, Hungary and completed Programme Copernic, a post graduate management course in Paris, France.
Career
He worked in the financial sector for six years initially with
Deloitte
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...
and then with
Crédit Lyonnais
The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cent ...
Bank in Hungary. In 1999 he joined the telecom sector where he held different sales and marketing executive positions with Pantel Zrt. (owned by Dutch telco KPN) and
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...
's online branch and became managing director of a Nasdaq listed internet service provider. During his business career he also was on the board of private equity funds. He is a member of the board of the largest state owned property development project of Budapest, the International Property Award winner Városliget Zrt. worth of Euro 0.5 bn.
He became involved with public affairs in 2004 as a publisher and chief editor of a leading Hungarian political weekly magazine. From 2011 until 2016 he was the executive vice president of Századvég Foundation, the largest and oldest Hungarian think tank. He co-owns Századvég Economy Research Institute, a strategic consultancy.
Other activities
Szalay-Bobrovniczky is a captain in the reserves of the
Hungarian Army and served on active duty with the Hungarian Palace Guards. He was the chairman of the Hungarian Reservist Association, and is now the honorary chairman of it. He was awarded for these services the Distinguished Award of Defence by the Hungarian Minister of Defence in 2016.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky competed in show jumping for several years. His interest in equestrian sports came from his great uncle Bert de Némethy, the famous show jumping coach of the US and the builder of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic show jumping course.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky is the chairman of the De Némethy Foundation.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky was also competing in martial arts, he was awarded 2nd dan in kendo.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky speaks Hungarian, English, French and German.
References
External links
Biography of the Ambassador
His Excellency Mr Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky Ambassador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Kristof
1970 births
Ambassadors of Hungary to the United Kingdom
Living people
Defence ministers of Hungary