György Matolcsy

György Matolcsy
Born	(1955-07-18) July 18, 1955 Budapest, Hungary
Occupation(s)	Economist, politician
Years active	1977–present
Known for	Governor of the Hungarian National Bank (2013–2025), Minister of National Economy (2000–2002, 2010–2013)

György Huba Matolcsy (born 18 July 1955 in Budapest) is a Hungarian economist and politician who held the position of governor at the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) from 2013 until 2025. Prior to this, he served as Minister of National Economy between 2000–2002 and again from 2010–2013 during the administration of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Career

After completing his studies at the Faculty of Economics, Corvinus University of Budapest, in 1977, Matolcsy obtained a doctorate in economics by 1984. His early career involved work as an economic specialist, followed by a brief appointment as parliamentary secretary under Prime Minister József Antall in 1990. Between 1991 and 1994, he was Hungary’s representative to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) based in London, initially serving as deputy director before his promotion to director in 1994.

Upon returning to Hungary, Matolcsy acted as an economic advisor to Fidesz, was elected to the National Assembly of Hungary, and held the role of Minister of Economy from 2000 to 2002. He formally joined Fidesz in 2003 and was reappointed Minister of National Economy in May 2010.

In 2011, Matolcsy expressed opposition to renewed discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), labeling them a "sign of weakness," although government negotiations with the IMF commenced later that year.

On 1 March 2013, Prime Minister Orbán put forward Matolcsy’s nomination as Governor of the Hungarian National Bank, a decision that initially led to depreciation of the Hungarian forint. He officially took office on 4 March, succeeding András Simor.

Matolcsy is the author of Economic Balance and Growth, released by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank in March 2015 and subsequently translated into English within the same year. This publication inaugurated the central bank’s new series on economic and monetary policy.

Criticism

Matolcsy’s distinctive monetary policy strategies at the Hungarian National Bank have attracted criticism from various economists and banking professionals, including former World Bank director Lajos Bokros and Péter Felcsuti, former CEO of Raiffeisen Bank in Hungary. Bokros has described Matolcsy as a political appointee lacking sufficient expertise in monetary economics. Felcsuti characterized his policies as Keynesian with a critical stance toward neoliberal economic principles, highlighting a preference for government intervention over market mechanisms within an academic discourse context. In 2019, Hungary’s Supreme Court determined that claims accusing Matolcsy of embezzling public funds did not amount to defamation.

Corruption Allegations

In March 2025, the Hungarian State Audit Office revealed that under Matolcsy’s governance, the bank was implicated in laundering approximately 500 billion forints (around 1.2 billion euros). Hungarian media outlets referred to this incident as the largest bank heist ever recorded, surpassing Saddam Hussein’s $1 billion theft from Iraq’s national bank.

External links

• MTI ki kicsoda 2009, Magyar Távirati Iroda Zrt., Budapest 2008, p.729
• Profile on Hungarian Parliament website
• Fidesz party biography
• Origo news portal biography, 1999