Hungary: Peter Balazs
April 2, 2004
When European reunification began in earnest in 1989, Hungarian politician Peter Balazs was a diplomat at the Hungarian Embassy in Germany, where he worked as an economist through much of the 80s. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Hungary’s ambassador to Germany, working in both Bonn and Berlin. Earlier, he had served as ambassador in Copenhagen.
With accession rapidly approaching, the Hungarian government tapped 62-year-old Balazs to lead the Hungarian Mission in Brussels in 2003. He also represented his country at the recent European Convention, where the draft of the European Union’s first constitution was hammered out. Balazs was born on Dec. 5, 1941, in Kecskemet.
The economy
According to a recent report by Deka Bank, Hungary has stumbled in the wake of its reform efforts of Summer 2002. The dramatic decrease in value of the Hungarian forint and a steep rise in inflation have served as highly visible external signs of the HungaryÄs current economic susceptibility.