Mihály Kupa (3 April 1941 – 2 September 2024) was 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 ...

between 1990 and 1993. He was arrested in 1958 for ten months. He finished his studies at the Karl Marx University of Economic Sciences in 1969. After his graduation he worked at the National Statistical Office and several other research institutions. He travelled to Angola for a short time in 1984, where he worked as a

financial adviser A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

. After his return he worked at the Ministry of Finance. When Ferenc Rabár resigned, Kupa was appointed Minister of Finance by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

. He became a member of the

National Assembly of Hungary The National Assembly ( ) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to four-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proportional representation: a mixed-member m ...

in 1991. He also worked as a Vice Chairman of the Governing Council of 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 ...

(EBRD) and as Speaker of 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 ...

's and

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 ...

's General Assembly. Kupa resigned from his ministerial position and also left the

Hungarian Democratic Forum The Hungarian Democratic Forum (, , MDF) was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a Hungarian nationalist, national-conservative, Christian-democratic ideology. The party was represented continuously in the National Assembly from t ...

faction in 1993, and served as an independent MP until the next election. He did not gain a mandate. He was appointed chairman of the Hungarian Market Association in 1996. During the 1998 election he won a mandate, so he became the only independent representative in the National Assembly. Kupa founded the Centre Party in 2001. The new party missed the 5% electoral threshold and Kupa stepped back in the second round of the 2002 election. He retired from politics in 2007. Kupa died in September 2024, at the age of 83.

References

Sources

BiographyMihály Kupa retired
1941 births 2024 deaths Politicians from Budapest Hungarian Democratic Forum politicians Finance ministers of Hungary Corvinus University of Budapest alumni Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1990–1994) Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1998–2002) {{Hungary-politician-stub