Hungary and the USA

Last year I was invited by Hungary’s Ambassador to Finland, Klara Breuer, for lunch at the Ambassador’s Residence in Helsinki. It was a chance to share my memories from over thirty years ago when I was with a group in Citibank that provided consulting to financial institutions mainly in emerging economies.

In Hungary, we did a large-scale transformation project for a newly formed bank. In addition, I was hired by the Central Bank of Hungary to advise on the start-up of the International Training Center for Bankers in Budapest and at the request of the US Ambassador in Hungary, Mark Palmer, I advised the Managing Director of the first private business school in Hungary, on a pro bono basis. Between 1998 to 1991, I made 23 trips to Budapest, mainly from our home in Brussels. And I have vivid memories of being in Budapest in November 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down.

Yesterday, on an unusually warm September afternoon in Helsinki, I returned to Ambassador Breuer’s Residence to celebrate St. Stephens Day. At the reception, I met several diplomats who had recently come to Finland, but as an American (and Finn), it was a particular pleasure to welcome, Chris Karber, the recently arrived US Deputy Chief of Mission and US Chargé d'affaires until the new ambassador is in place.