György Huba Matolcsy (born 18 July 1955,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) is a Hungarian politician and economist, current governor of the

Hungarian National Bank The Hungarian National Bank ( , MNB) is the central bank of Hungary and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It was established in 1924 as a successor entity of the Austro-Hungarian Bank, under the economic assistance ...

(MNB). He also served as Minister of National Economy from 2000 to 2002 during the first cabinet of

Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...

and from 2010 to 2013 in the Second Orbán Cabinet.

Career

In 1977, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics of

Corvinus University of Budapest Corvinus University of Budapest () is a private university, private research university in Budapest, Hungary. The university currently has an enrolment of approximately 9,600 students, with a primary focus on business administration, economics, ...

, at that time known as the Karl Marx University of Economics and Industry, and in 1984 received a PhD in economics from the same institution, the only university in Hungary before the fall of Communism where one could graduate from economics. He worked as an expert in economic institutions. In 1990 he became for a brief period of parliamentary secretary in the Prime Minister

József Antall József Tihamér Antall Jr. (, ; 8 April 1932 – 12 December 1993) was a Hungarian teacher, librarian, historian, and statesman who served as the first democratically elected prime minister of Hungary, holding office from May 1990 until his d ...

period. In 1991-1994 he was a representative of the Hungarian Government, the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, including a deputy director in the period 1991-1994, and in 1994 director of the bank. After returning to the country was among others

Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal. Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...

's economic expert, member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, and in 2000-2002, minister of economy. In 2003 he joined the Fidesz. On 29 May 2010 he became minister of national economy in the second Orbán cabinet. He said in October 2011 the return to talks with IMF would be a "clear sign of weakness".Gyengeséget jelent - mit mondott a kormány az IMF-ről korábban?
Origo.hu, 17 November 2011; accessed 18 November 2011 He also said in the Parliament on 14 November 2011, just four days before the ministry's announcement, in a response to a Jobbik politician, "the government forming its economic policy against this three-letter institution MF" On 17 November 2011 the Ministry of National Economy said "government is starting negotiations on a new type of cooperation 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 ...

(IMF) in the course of scheduled consultations." On 1 March 2013, Prime Minister Orbán nominated Matolcsy to the position of the Head of the

(MNB). Orbán said "performance and the facts point towards one man, and that is György Matolcsy." The

Hungarian forint The forint (, sign Ft; code HUF) is the currency of Hungary. It was formerly divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II s ...

had steadily dropped when became official information that Matolcsy will be appointed governor. He took the office on 4 March, replacing

András Simor András Simor (born 17 May 1954) is a Hungarian economist, who served as governor of the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) from 2007 to 2013. He was replaced by György Matolcsy. Career He holds a degree in International Finances from the Budapes ...

. He is the author of publications in the field of economics. The book, entitled Economic Balance and Growth, was published on 5 March 2015 and was translated and published in English in December 2015. It is the first of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank's book series.

Criticism

Numerous economists and banking experts have been critical of Matolcsy's unorthodox actions regarding the

's monetary policy, including former

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

director

Lajos Bokros Lajos András Bokros (born 26 June 1954) is a Hungarian economist, who served as Minister of Finance from 1995 to 1996. He was a Member of the European Parliament for Hungary in the 2009–2014 session. He was the leader of the Movement for a M ...

and Raiffeisen Bank (Hungary) former CEO Péter Felcsuti. In an English language interview with Hungarian news website

The Budapest Beacon ''The Budapest Beacon'' was an online newspaper that reported on current events in Hungary. It was published by United States–based Real Reporting Foundation, a news organization. Online presence In July 2014, Hungarian news portals reporte ...

, Bokros criticized Matolcsy for being a political appointee who knows nothing about monetary economics. Felcsuti said of Matolcsy, "To suggest that he is a lunatic wouldn’t be fair. He has a view which is basically very critical of the neoliberal economic school. It’s very Keynesian. He doesn't believe in the market and he believes much more in the government that guides or directs the market. I’ll say that much about him. These are things that can be said within the frame of academic debate." In 2019, the Supreme Court of Hungary ruled that there was sufficient factual basis that accusing György Matolcsy of stealing public money did not constitute libel.

Accusement of corruption

In March 2025, the Hungarian state audit office wrote a report finding that the bank, and it's leader, György Matolcsy took part in laundering of 500 billion forints (approximately 1,2 billion euros) worth of money. It has been described in Hungarian media as the biggest bank robbery in world history, as it has surpassed Saddam Hussein 1b$ heist of the national bank of Iraq, which is often mentioned as such.

References

External links

*MTI ki kicsoda 2009, Magyar Távirati Iroda Zrt., Budapest 2008, 729. old.
Matolcsy's infopage at the Hungarian Parliament's portalBiography at the Fidesz party's portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matolcsy, Gyorgy 1955 births Living people Hungarian economists Governors of the Hungarian National Bank Government ministers of Hungary Fidesz politicians Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2006–2010) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2010–2014) Politicians from Budapest Corvinus University of Budapest alumni