Gábor Kovács (born 2 January 1957, in

Orosháza Orosháza is a city situated in the westernmost part of Békés (county), Békés county, Hungary, on the Békés ridge bordered by the rivers River Maros, Maros and River Körös, Körös. Orosháza is an important culture, cultural, educational ...

) is a Hungarian financier, banker, art collector, philanthropist and founder of KOGART.

Life and career

Having studied at the Moscow State Institution for International Relations (

MGIMO Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (, also known as MGIMO University) is an higher education, institute of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. The institute is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian ...

) between 1975 and 1980, he started his career at 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 ...

. He was the first managing director of Citibank Budapest from 1985, before becoming the vice-president of Citibank London. Back in Hungary by 1991, he founded Bankár Holding Plc., which he now heads as president and CEO. It was at this time that he began to collect works by, as well as to support, Hungarian artists. His collection spans the history of Hungarian painting from the early 18th to the mid-20th century. On 8 November 2003, he established the Gábor Kovács Art Foundation with a HUF 3 bn capital stock, and opened KOGART House on 20 April 2004. He has been a member of the

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

since 2006. Following its full-scale renovation, he reopened, with a new function, the Pauline-Carmelite Monastery of

Sopronbánfalva Sopronbánfalva (), also known as Bánfalva, is a former village that is part of the city of Sopron, Hungary, since 1950. It is also called Kertváros (Garden-City in Hungarian) or Sopron-Kertváros. It is located west of the city center, at the ...

in 2010, which was managed and owned by him till 2015. Above all, he is interested in finding answers for the new social and economic challenges of the 21st century.

Milestones of his career

* 1980–1985

Foreign Exchange Controls Foreign exchange controls are various forms of controls imposed by a government on the purchase/sale of foreign currencies by residents, on the purchase/sale of local currency by nonresidents, or the transfers of any currency across national b ...

Department, International Section, Scandinavian officer, * 1985–1989

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

Rt. (

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 ...

), managing director, * 1989–1991

(

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 ...

), vice-president, * 1991– Bankár Ltd. (

), managing director, later Bankár Holding Plc., president-CEO.

''Beauty—Harmony—Equilibrium''

Awards and distinctions

2005: Summa Artium Award, “For Contemporary Art” category, for his extensive work as an organizer and supporter of art. 2005: Knight’s Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...

References

Sources

* Biográf Ki Kicsoda (Hungarian Who is Who). Budapest, 2002.

External links

About the founder

Masterpieces of Hungarian Painting Art from the Selection of Gábor Kovács

Monastery History 2004, 2009-2010

Gábor Kovács Art Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacs, Gabor Hungarian businesspeople Hungarian art collectors Hungarian philanthropists 1957 births Living people Knight's Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil)