Ferenc Juhász

Who is Ferenc Juhász?

Ferenc Juhász in Nyíregyháza, is a former Minister of Defence for Hungary. From 1990, he has been a member of the Hungarian Socialist Party, and from 2000 the vice chairman of the party. He was the Minister of National Defense in Hungary from 27 May 2002 to 9 June 2006.

The Central Prosecutor’s Office pressed charges against Juhász and his former State Secretary László Fapál in a suspected graft case on 13 July 2012. Formerly the launched an investigation against Juhász for misappropriation of funds in allocating and selling a ministry-owned apartment to Fapál in 2005-2006. According to the prosecutor’s statement, the flat, purchased by the ministry at 65 million forints was sold to Fapál at a discount price of 22.2 million forints. The deal has caused the Defence Ministry damages estimated at 43 million forints. Juhász told MTI that he believed the charges were unfounded as they centred on a procedure earlier deemed legal by current defence minister Csaba Hende. He insisted that he prosecution was “obviously acting on political pressure”.