Mihály Varga (born 26 January 1965) is a Hungarian politician, who served as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(previously Minister of National Economy) from 2013 to 2024. He also served as

between 2001 and 2002. He has been a member of

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 ...

since the party's founding in 1988. He was one of the party's four vice presidents between 2005 and 2013.

Early life and education

Varga studied at Gábor Áron Secondary School in

Karcag Karcag () is a large town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. Geography Karcag covers an area of and has a population of 20,632 people (2011). Transport Karcag has its own railway station, bu ...

and finishing in 1983. He graduated in trade from Karl Marx University of Economic Science of Budapest in 1989. After defending his thesis he served as an auditor at the State Construction Company No. 43 in

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 ...

, and then became an economist at the East Hungary Water Planning Company in

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

in 1990.

Political career

At the end of December 1988 he joined the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fidesz). He was the founder of the Szolnok county Fidesz group. He became a member of Fidesz's National Board in 1990, and served as its chairman in 1992–93. From 1993 to 1995 he was chairman of the party's organisation in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County. From 1994 to 2003 he was the party's national deputy chairman, a member of the National Board and director of the party's Management Office. He has chaired the Karcag constituency since the autumn of 2003. He has been a member of the Parliament since 1990 elected from the national list in 1990 and co-opted on 26 September 1994; elected to represent: Constituency 8, Karcag, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County in 1998. From 1995 to 1998 he was Deputy Group Leader. From 14 July 1998 to 31 December 2000 he was Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Finance. From 1 January 2001 to 27 May 2002 he served as Minister of Finance. He secured an individual mandate from Karcag once again in the 2002 parliamentary elections. On finishing his governmental duties he became leader of the Budget and Finance Committee. He secured a seat in Parliament in the 2006 general elections from Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county 8.constituency. He was elected chairman of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Audit Office on 30 May 2006. Varga became state secretary of the Prime Minister's Office in 2010. His role was to maintain a contact between the Prime Minister

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 the ministers. He was appointed Minister without portfolio for liaising with international financial organisations, replacing

Tamás Fellegi Tamás László Fellegi (born 7 January 1956) is a Hungarian politician, jurist, political scientist, businessman, who served as Minister of National Development in Viktor Orbán's government from May 29, 2010 to December 14, 2011. After that he ...

, on 2 June 2012. Varga was succeeded by

János Lázár János Lázár (born 19 February 1975) is a Hungarian politician and Member of Parliament. He was former leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group (2010–2012) and State Secretary, then Minister of Prime Minister's Office (2012–2018) in the ...

as Head of the Prime Minister's Office. He was appointed Minister of National Economy on 4 March 2013, replacing

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 ...

. The position was renamed the Minister of Finance on 18 May 2018.

Other activities

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 ...

(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2013)Board of Governors

(EBRD).

Public life

He served as vice president of the Hungarian - Kazakh Friendship Society from 1997. In 2000 he became a member of the Order of the Knights of St. John. He became presbyter of the

Reformed Church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

of Karcag and a member of the Rákóczi Association in 2001. In 2003 he became Chairman of the Nagykun Civic Association. He is an honorary professor of the Szolnok Business School (''Szolnoki Gazdasági Főiskola'').

Personal life

He is married to Szilvia Sántha, a chemist. They have four children together — two daughters, Vanda and Sarolta, and two sons, Mihály and Sámuel. Varga is a member of the

Reformed Church in Hungary The Reformed Church in Hungary (, MRE, ) is the largest Protestant church in Hungary, with parishes also among the Hungarian diaspora abroad. It is made up of 1,249 congregations in 27 presbyteries and four church districts and has a membershi ...

References

External links