Zoltán Cséfalvay is a Hungarian politician, economist and geographer. He served as Secretary of State for Strategy with the Ministry of the National Economy of Hungary, and later as Hungary's ambassador to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

Education

Born in Máriakálnok, Hungary in 1958, Zoltán Cséfalvay attended the

University of Debrecen ThUniversity of Debrecen( hu, Debreceni Egyetem) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its ...

from 1977 to 1982, and between 1987 and 1988, he held a

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

grant at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. He received his PhD in geography from the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( hu, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. Its ma ...

in 1996. The

awarded him his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

in 1999.

Career

First Orbán government

He was appointed Deputy Secretary of State for Regional Economic Development in the

First Orbán government The First Orbán Government was the fourth democraticly elected government in Hungary after the regime change. It existed between 1998 and 2002. Its creation was made possible by the FKgP: the party withdrew 82 candidates in the second round of ...

under Minister for Economic Affairs

György Matolcsy György Matolcsy (born 18 July 1955, Budapest) is a Hungarian politician and economist, current governor of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB). He also served as Minister of Economy (2000–2002) during the first cabinet of Viktor Orbán and ...

Second Orbán government

In 2010, he was appointed Minister of State for the National Economy, where he served as the ministry's Parliamentary Secretary as well. During this period, he managed the negotiations with the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

in addressing the Hungarian deficit crisis.

Joint ambassador to UNESCO and OECD

He presented his credentials as Hungary's permanent representative to the

and Hungary's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to

in January 2015.

JRC Seville

After the end of his posting with

and

, he took up a senior grantholder's position in December 2018 at the European Commission's

Joint Research Centre The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to European Union (EU) policy. The JRC is ...

Seville, Spain Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, where his work focused on the impact of

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

on European industry and the economic drivers of competitiveness.

Awards and recognition

In 2014, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...

in recognition of his work in the field of Polish-Hungarian bilateral economic cooperation.

Personal life

He is married to the Hungarian social scientist and university lecturer Anna Mária Bartal. They have one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Csefalvay, Zoltan Hungarian politicians Government of Hungary Ambassadors of Hungary 1958 births Living people