Zsuzsanna Németh

Who is Zsuzsanna Németh?

Lászlóné Németh or Zsuzsanna Németh, Hungarian politician and economist, current Minister of National Development in Viktor Orbán's government since December 23, 2011.

She was nominated for the position after resignation of Tamás Fellegi in December 2011. Formerly she was the deputy chief executive and member of the board of directors of the Hungarian Development Bank. After her appointment, Németh became the only female minister in the current government. The opposition strongly criticized her because Németh does not hold a degree from a higher education institute. It was probably with her in mind that the MFB changed its rules to allow people onto its board who although lacking a diploma have “at least ten years of relevant experience”, a source told the Origo.hu.

The other point, focused on the fact that “Lászlóné Németh” is her married name, which in English is the equivalent of “Mrs. László Németh”, but that it doesn’t make clear what her actual first name is. According to Index.hu, Németh is the third woman minister in Hungarian history to be known solely by her married name, as in previous cases a female minister either served using her maiden name, or the method by which her maiden name followed her husband’s name.