Ákos Birtalan (2 June 1962 – 24 August 2011) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n economist and politician. A member of the

Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR; , RMDSZ ; , UDMR) is a political party in Romania which aims to represent the significant Hungarian minority of Romania. Officially considering itself a federation of minority interests ra ...

(UDMR), he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

in the legislative elections of 1992, and reelected in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

(representing

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania's 41 counties and the ...

). In 1996–1998, Birtalan was Minister of Tourism in

Victor Ciorbea Victor Ciorbea (; born on 26 October 1954) is a Romanian jurist, politician, and civil/public servant. He was the Mayor of Bucharest between 1996 and 1997 and, after his resignation from this public dignity/position, Prime Minister of Romania fr ...

's cabinet (formed around the

Romanian Democratic Convention The Romanian Democratic Convention (; abbreviated CDR) was an electoral alliance of several democratic, anti-communist, anti-totalitarian, and centre-right political parties in Romania, active from 1991 until 2000. The most prominent leaders o ...

, CDR). Born in

Vețca Vețca ( or colloquially ''Vécke'', Hungarian pronunciation:) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania that is composed of three villages: Jacodu (''Magyarzsákod''), Sălașuri (''Székelyszállás''), and Vețca. Geography The com ...

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

, he is a member of the Hungarian community. Birtalan graduated from the

Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( , , commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Established in 1581 as Academia Claudiopolitana, it underwent several reorganizations over the centuries, eventually taking ...

's Faculty of Economic Sciences (1985), and took a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in economics from the Academy of Economic Studies in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. He has authored several scientific works in both

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and Hungarian, and is a member of the Association of Hungarian Economists in Romania, while serving as head of the Economic Budget-Finance Commission for the UDMR's Council of Union Representatives. Inside the Chamber, Ákos Birtalan has served on the Committee for Economic Policy, Reform and Privatization (1992–1996), the Committee for Public Administration, Territorial Development and Environmental Balance (1996–2000), the Committee on Budget, Finance and Banks (2004, initially serving as its secretary), and the Committee for Industries and Services (2004). He became a member of government in December 1996, following an agreement between Ciorbea and the UDMR's President

Béla Markó Béla Markó (born 8 September 1951) is a Romanian politician and writer of Hungarian ethnicity. He is married with three children. He is reportedly, a follower of reformed Christianity. The former leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungari ...

– when the CDR increased its support by appointing two cabinet members of the UDMR: Birtalan and the Minister-Delegate for

National Minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

, György Tokay. Birtalan was married and had two children.

References

Bio at the Chamber of Deputies site
* Cristian Şuţu
"Markó Béla l-a egalat la guvernare pe Ion Iliescu" ("Béla Markó has Matched Ion Iliescu in Government")
in ''

Cotidianul The logo used between 2003 and 2007 ''Cotidianul'' (meaning ''The Daily'' in English) is a Romanian-language newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern E ...

'', March 29, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Birtalan, Akos Babeș-Bolyai University alumni Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies alumni Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) People from Mureș County 20th-century Romanian economists 1962 births 2011 deaths 21st-century Romanian economists