László Kovács | |
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European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union | |
In office 22 November 2004 – 9 February 2010 |
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President | José Manuel Barroso |
Preceded by | Frits Bolkestein (Internal Market, Taxation and Customs Union) |
Succeeded by | Algirdas Šemeta (Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud) |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 27 May 2002 – 29 September 2004 |
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Prime Minister | Péter Medgyessy |
Preceded by | Géza Jeszenszky |
Succeeded by | János Martonyi |
In office 15 July 1994 – 6 July 1998 |
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Prime Minister | Gyula Horn |
Preceded by | János Martonyi |
Succeeded by | Ferenc Somogyi |
Personal details | |
Born | 3 July 1939 Budapest, Hungary |
Political party | Socialist Party |
László Kovács (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈlaːsloː ˈkovaːtʃ]) (born 3 July 1939 in Budapest) is a Hungarian politician and diplomat, former European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union. He was the foreign minister of Hungary twice, from 1994 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2004. He also served as chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party from 1998 to 2004.
In 2004, Kovács was nominated to serve as the Hungarian member of the European Commission, which was to take office on 1 November 2004. His apparent unsuitability for his proposed role as Energy Commissioner was one of the reasons why the European Parliament refused to endorse the proposed new Commission. However, the Hungarian government did not nominate a new commissioner in his place, therefore in the revised setup of the Commission, serving from 22 November 2004, he was finally appointed as Commissioner responsible for Taxation and Customs Union.
László Andor became the next Hungarian European Commissioner in the second Barroso Commission. Kovács returned to Hungary and was elected to the National Assembly of Hungary.
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Géza Jeszenszky |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 1994–1998 |
Succeeded by János Martonyi |
Preceded by János Martonyi |
Minister of Foreign Affairs 2002–2004 |
Succeeded by Ferenc Somogyi |
Preceded by Péter Balázs |
Hungarian European Commissioner 2004–2010 |
Succeeded by László Andor |
Preceded by Frits Bolkestein as European Commissioner for Internal Market, Taxation and Customs Union |
European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union 2004–2010 |
Succeeded by Algirdas Šemeta as European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Gyula Horn |
Chairman of the Hungarian Socialist Party 1998–2004 |
Succeeded by István Hiller |
Diplomatic posts | ||
Preceded by Antonio Martino Italy |
Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE 1995 |
Succeeded by Flavio Cotti Switzerland |
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