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 (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

and the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

Education

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

University of Debrecen The University of Debrecen ( ) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its establishment in 1538. The university has a well established progra ...

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

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD; ), founded in 1925, is a joint organization of German universities and student bodies to foster their international relations. Since 1 January 2020, the president has been Joybrato Mukherjee. Organisa ...

grant at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. He received his PhD in geography from the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...

in 1996. The

awarded him his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

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 democratically 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 ...

under Minister for Economic Affairs

György Matolcsy György Huba Matolcsy (born 18 July 1955, Budapest) is a Hungary, Hungarian politician and economist, current governor of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB). He also served as Minister of Finance (Hungary), Minister of National Economy from 2000 ...

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 funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

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. Leadersh ...

Seville, Spain Seville ( ; , ) 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. Seville ...

, where his work focused on the impact of

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

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 () 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 abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

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 Permanent representatives of Hungary to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Permanent delegates of Hungary to UNESCO 1958 births Living people