COLLEAGUES
Laura Balázs
Communication and events
Laura Balázs graduated from Babits Mihály High School in Budapest. Afterwards, she graduated from Eötvös Loránd University with a Bachelor's degree in communication and a Master's degree in filmmaking. She studied film, television and media studies in Madrid on an Erasmus scholarship. Her practical experience includes working in television, for an event management foundation and on film shoots. She also gained a diploma as a graphic designer; she has an interest in visual culture and design. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, she is responsible for Hungarian and English communication, organising events, managing press relations and the Foundation's online presence.
Lili Baranyai
Office manager
Lili Baranyai Office Manager of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. She received an Agricultural Engineering Degree specialised in horticulture from the Gyöngyös Faculty of Szent István University (1996). Following a year of gaining experience and language learning in Germany, she started to work for Stollwerck Édesipari Kft (Stollwerck Confectionary Ltd) (1997-1999) in Hungary as export operator and promoted the company at international professional exhibitions. Afterwards, she continued her career at Concorde Értékpapír Zrt. (Concorde Securities Private Limited Company). Her duties included settlement of shares and investment funds, negotiation of distribution contracts, preparation of monthly and quarterly reports, and supporting the development of IT systems. 15 years later she worked for Accorde Alapkezelő Zrt (Accorde Asset Management Private Limited Company) (2016-2019) approaching capital markets from a different angle. From here she arrived at the Otto von Habsburg Foundation.
Szilveszter Dékány
Senior Collection Fellow
Szilveszter Dékány completed his primary and secondary studies in Eger, and pursued university studies at Eszterházy Károly College and Eötvös Loránd University with a history major. Between 2002 and 2016 he worked for the Hungarian National Archives, later called National Archives of Hungary, first at the Research Service, and later on at the Public Education Department as assistant archivist, archivist, and finally as head archivist. Between 2016 and 2019 he was the Communication and PR Team Lead of FŐKERT Nonprofit Zrt (Metropolitan Horticultural Closely-held Nonprofit Company Limited by Shares), and in 2018 earned an EMBA in digital marketing at Budapest Metropolitan University. His research area is visual propaganda and media history in the 20th century. At Otto von Habsburg Foundation he is responsible for the photo collection and the online platforms. He is married, with three children.
Gergely Fejérdy
Deputy Scientific Director
Gergely Fejérdy (PhD), diplomatic historian, university teacher, foreign affairs analyst, former diplomat, research assistant at Otto von Habsburg Foundation. He completed his secondary education in Budapest, and pursued university studies in Budapest, Piliscsaba, Paris, Lyon, Leuven, and Fribourg in Switzerland, on the subjects of history, French language, international relations, European studies and theology. He received a degree in 2001 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Pázmány Péter Catholic University. In 2002, he gained a degree in European communication in Lyon, and he was awarded a PhD summa cum laude, in the history of modern international relations at Paris-Sorbonne University in 2009. He started his career at PPKE Institute of History and at the International Relations Department of Corvinus University of Budapest as assistant professor and lecturer. From 2010 he worked as senior associate of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (later called Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade), as a France and European Union expert. Between 2013 and 2016, he was lecturer of the Council of PPKE BTK School of History. Between 2015 and 2019 he worked as diplomat at the Embassy of Hungary in Paris. He is a member of several Hungarian and European professional research groups, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ (MTA’s) public body, and recipient of several French and Hungarian science awards. His publications are available in the Hungarian National Scientific Bibliography (MTMT) database. He is married, with three children.
Eszter Gaálné Barcs
Senior Archivist
Eszter Gaálné Barcs graduated from the Szent Margit Secondary School in Budapest. Between 1988 and 1999, she worked as an assistant in the Map Department of the Institute and Museum of Military History. She earned her degrees in history and archival studies in 2004 at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University. From 2004 to 2021, she worked at the Pest County Archives of the Hungarian National Archives. She participated in the collecting, public education and archiving tasks and was the local project manager of the “Hetedíziglen” family history programme. From 2009 onwards, she worked as a lecturer at the Department of Auxiliary Sciences of History at Eötvös Loránd University. Within the framework of her research, she published mainly studies on church and legal history. Her publications are available in the MTMT database. As a member of the Foundation’s staff, she is involved in the organisation of the collection. She speaks German and French. She is married and the mother of two children.
Anett Hammer-Nacsa
Archivist
Anett Hammer-Nacsa graduated from the English bilingual class of the Eötvös József High School in Tata. She pursued her university studies at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, majoring in history (with a specialization in the history and practice of cultural heritage) and graduated with a Master's degree in 2019. She also studied at the University of Salzburg on an Erasmus scholarship and did her internship at the Hungarian National Museum. Between 2015 and 2019, she worked at the Royal Palace of Gödöllő, where she presented the history of the castle and its inhabitants to Hungarian, German and English-speaking guests. After finishing her studies, she worked for a year at the Excavation Project Office of the Budapest History Museum. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, she is responsible for the organisation and maintenance of the archival holdings.
Lili Herczeg
Event Coordinator
Lili Herczeg graduated from the Kölcsey Ferenc High School, then received her Bachelor's Degree in Hungarian Studies at ELTE, majoring in creative writing. During her university years, she worked as a producer for a commercial film production company, and after finishing her studies, she gained experience as a freelance production manager in various media genres: she worked on commercials, educational and campaign videos, international campaigns, and also had the opportunity to try her hand at television production. Since July 2022, she has been working as an events coordinator for our Foundation, drawing on her many years of experience in the field of organisation.
ESZTER KARDONNÉ FÁBRY
Archivist
Eszter Kardonné Fábry completed her secondary education in Budapest, then studied art history, Hungarian language and literature at Eötvös Loránd University, where she obtained a degree in Humanities in 1987. After one year of additional pedagogical training, she also earned a teacher’s degree for secondary education. In her final year, in parallel with her university studies, she worked as a research assistant in the Old Master Paintings Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts. After graduating, she became a librarian at the National Széchényi Library. From the spring of 1988, she worked in the Old Master Paintings Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts as a museologist and then as a senior museologist. She has worked as a curator of early German and Dutch painting and has helped to plan and organize several exhibitions, including projects with foreign collections. She also gained international experience by coordinating the international and national loans of holdings from the collection, while also being responsible for the professional preparation and organisation of the restoration of the paintings. She was author of catalogue items for several exhibitions and performed editorial and proofreading activities. Due to her husband’s diplomatic service, she spent four years in Germany with her family. She is married, mother of three children, and grandmother. As the archivist of the Foundation, she is responsible for taking care of Otto von Habsburg’s writings and articles in foreign languages and for building the database from these sources.
Bence Kocsev
Collection Fellow
Bence Kocsev attended the Grammar School of the Reformed College of Pápa and then studied history and sociology at Eötvös Loránd University, where he obtained his master’s degree in history in 2015. Simultaneously with his university studies, he was a member of the St. Ignatius Jesuit College of Advanced Studies. In 2016, he began his doctoral studies in Budapest and Leipzig. From 2016 to 2020, he worked as a research fellow at the Collaborative Research Centre 1199 at Leipzig University and at the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO). Within the framework of his research, he focused mainly on the economic and social history of the Cold War. Upon return, he worked at the Antall József Knowledge Centre as head of the Győr Office until the end of 2021. As a collection fellow of the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, he is responsible for the organisation and maintenance of the archival holdings as well as for the planning of events. He speaks English, German and Dutch.
Piroska Kocsis
Collection Fellow
Piroska Kocsis graduated in Kaposvár. She earned a primary school teacher’s qualification at Zsámbék Catholic Teacher Training College, a secondary school education degree at Eötvös Loránd University Teacher Training College, and a degree in History for secondary education at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen. From 1978 she worked for the Hungarian National Archives (National Archives of Hungary) as head archivist and principal administrator. In the Archive she worked at the Department of pre-1945 Political Government Agencies, later at the Department of post-1945 Political Government Agencies, and at the Document Management Supervisory Department. He worked as assistant archivist and case assistant, in addition she organised and provided archivist and record manager training courses. She has published several studies and sources on 20th century Hungarian history and archival issues. Besides her public education activity, she participated in the organisation of exhibitions, publishing and editing catalogues; one of these was the exhibition on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Otto von Habsburg located in the National Archives of Hungary, related to the scientific conference of autumn 2012 that she organised with Zoltán Ólmosi. She is a member of the Association of Hungarian Archivists. In 1986 she received minister's praise, and in 2014 she won the Pro Archivo Regni award. At the Foundation she is responsible for building databases and organising the archives as part of an assignment contract. She is a mother of two children.
Zita Lőrincz
Collection Fellow
Zita Lőrincz graduated from the Piarist High School in Kecskemét. She obtained her bachelor's degree in History at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Pázmány Péter Catholic University. She completed her internship at the National Archives of Hungary. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, she is contributing to the organisation of the photo collection, the compilation of an archival catalogue and the preparation for digitisation as part of an assignment contract.
Ágnes Martonosi
Financial Officer
Ágnes Martonosi is the economic operator of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. She completed her secondary education in Budapest, and she earned a CPA qualification and a degree in economics at the Faculty of Finance and Accountancy of the College of Finance and Accountancy. During her career she worked as chief financial officer for Fantázia Rt (Fantasy public limited company), and Meteor Rt (Meteor public limited company), and for GRIFF Kft (GRIFF Ltd) as executive director. Between 2003 and 2018 she worked in the public administration; she was the head of department and the economic leader of the Office for Hungarians beyond the Borders, and later she became the deputy head of the Financial and Salary Management Department at the Ministry of Youth, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of Hungary, and its successor the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, and the Economic Department of the Ministry of Human Capacities. She is a mother of two children.
Péter Matolcsi
Collection Fellow
Péter Matolcsi attended the St. Elizabeth of Hungary High School in Esztergom. Between 2021 and 2024, he pursued his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University, majoring in history (archival specialization). He completed internships as an archivist at the Pest County Archives of the Hungarian National Archives and at the Central Archives of the Hungarian Lutheran Church. He is currently enrolled at the archives master's programme of Eötvös Loránd University. Since 2022, he has been an active member of the history working group of the Eötvös József Collegium. His research interests include the history of the early modern period in Hungary, and the history of administration. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, under an assignment contract, he is responsible for the organisation of the general correspondence of our namesake for the period 1951–1956, the preparation of the auxiliary records and the processing of the diaries kept throughout the childhood of Otto von Habsburg and his siblings.
Ferenc Nagy
Office Assistant
Ferenc Nagy studied in Budapest in the field of engineering. During his career he worked for companies specialized in information technology and transportation, and for 18 years he was an operational employee of the Federal Express Corporation delivery service. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, he is responsible for the day-to-day running of the office, as well as for mobilisation. He also contributes to the digitisation of the collection. He is married and the father of two children.
Ágnes Pásztor
Chief Financial Officer
Ágnes Pásztor is the finance manager of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. She completed her secondary education in Hatvan, and she earned a degree in administration management at the Faculty of Public Administration of Corvinus University of Budapest. In the course of her career she worked for the National Association of Hungarian Journalists, for the Hungarian General Directorate of Water Management, and for the Ministry of Environment and Water; subsequently, she worked for the Ministry of Youth, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of Hungary, and its successor the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, and she became deputy head of the Economic Department of the Ministry of Human Capacities. She is a mother of two children.
Gergely Prőhle
Director
Gergely Prőhle former ambassador, Director of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. He completed his secondary education in Budapest, and pursued university studies in Budapest, Jena, and Hamburg in German studies, Hungaristics and international relations; he received a degree in 1989 at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). During his career he worked for the ELTE Lectorate of Foreign Languages, led Friedrich Naumann Stiftung’s representation in Hungary, and became permanent undersecretary in charge of culture in 1998. From 2000 to 2005 he was Hungary’s ambassador to Berlin and later to Bern. Subsequently, he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in various positions, which he interrupted for four years: he worked for an international consultancy firm in the business sector. He was responsible for EU Bilateral Relations as Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, later Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Human Capacities, but his portfolio also included the V4 cooperation and the Central European Initiative. Prior to his current mandate he was the director-general of Petőfi Literary Museum in Budapest. From 2006 he has been Lay President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, recipient of distinguished Hungarian, German, Italian and Polish state honours. He regularly publishes in journals and periodicals. He is a father of four children.
Ádám Suslik
Senior Archivist
Ádám Suslik (PhD), historian, archivist, collection fellow at the Otto von Habsburg Foundation. He attended secondary school at the Reformed Lyceum of Nagybereg, and pursued his university studies in Transcarpathia and Budapest. In 2017, he obtained a doctorate degree at the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, the subject of his dissertation being the military administration and public administration of the First World War. From 2018, he worked at the Győr-Moson-Sopron County Archives of the National Archives, where he was responsible for documents related to the Hungarian Soviet Republic. From 2019 to 2024, he was in charge of the Ministry of the Interior Archives within the Department of Pre-1945 Government Authorities of the National Archives, and for a period he also held the position of Deputy Head of Department. Between 2018 and 2021, he was part of the Greek Catholic Heritage Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Besides working as an archivist, he is also actively engaged in research in Austrian and Hungarian archives. He is a member of the István Hajnal Circle, the Hungarian Historical Society, the Association of Hungarian Archivists and the Public Association of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main field of research is the economic, military and social history of the 20th century. His publications are available in the MTMT database. He is married, father of two children.
Ferenc Vasbányai
Librarian
Ferenc Vasbányai completed his secondary education in Budapest. He earned a degree in library science, history, and Hungarian grammar and literature at Eötvös Loránd University. He led the European Documentation Centre at the Department of International Private Law of ELTE Faculty of Law for three years (1999-2002). Between 2002 and 2006 he taught Modern World History and 20th-century Hungarian History at ELTE Teacher Training College. As employee of National Széchényi Library, he carried out the analytical exploration of partial documents published in the field of humanities (2007-2019). He is responsible for the maintenance of Otto von Habsburg Foundation’s library stock. He is married, with two children.
Beáta Vitos-Merza
Archivist
Beáta Vitos-Merza graduated from the Móricz Zsigmond Grammar School in Szentendre. She began her university studies at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, majoring in history (with a specialization on ancient history). In 2020, she obtained a Master’s degree in historical museology at Eötvös Loránd University. She completed her internship at the Géza Kresz Rescue Museum and the Semmelweis Museum of Medical History of the Hungarian National Museum, where she was involved in organising events and exhibitions as well as in collection tasks. At the latter museum, she worked as a volunteer for two years. She works as an archivist at the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, where she is responsible for organising and maintaining documents.
COLLEAGUES
Communication and events
Laura Balázs graduated from Babits Mihály High School in Budapest. Afterwards, she graduated from Eötvös Loránd University with a Bachelor's degree in communication and a Master's degree in filmmaking. She studied film, television and media studies in Madrid on an Erasmus scholarship. Her practical experience includes working in television, for an event management foundation and on film shoots. She also gained a diploma as a graphic designer; she has an interest in visual culture and design. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, she is responsible for Hungarian and English communication, organising events, managing press relations and the Foundation's online presence.
Office manager
Lili Baranyai Office Manager of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. She received an Agricultural Engineering Degree specialised in horticulture from the Gyöngyös Faculty of Szent István University (1996). Following a year of gaining experience and language learning in Germany, she started to work for Stollwerck Édesipari Kft (Stollwerck Confectionary Ltd) (1997-1999) in Hungary as export operator and promoted the company at international professional exhibitions. Afterwards, she continued her career at Concorde Értékpapír Zrt. (Concorde Securities Private Limited Company). Her duties included settlement of shares and investment funds, negotiation of distribution contracts, preparation of monthly and quarterly reports, and supporting the development of IT systems. 15 years later she worked for Accorde Alapkezelő Zrt (Accorde Asset Management Private Limited Company) (2016-2019) approaching capital markets from a different angle. From here she arrived at the Otto von Habsburg Foundation.
Senior Collection Fellow
Szilveszter Dékány completed his primary and secondary studies in Eger, and pursued university studies at Eszterházy Károly College and Eötvös Loránd University with a history major. Between 2002 and 2016 he worked for the Hungarian National Archives, later called National Archives of Hungary, first at the Research Service, and later on at the Public Education Department as assistant archivist, archivist, and finally as head archivist. Between 2016 and 2019 he was the Communication and PR Team Lead of FŐKERT Nonprofit Zrt (Metropolitan Horticultural Closely-held Nonprofit Company Limited by Shares), and in 2018 earned an EMBA in digital marketing at Budapest Metropolitan University. His research area is visual propaganda and media history in the 20th century. At Otto von Habsburg Foundation he is responsible for the photo collection and the online platforms. He is married, with three children.
Deputy Scientific Director
Gergely Fejérdy (PhD), diplomatic historian, university teacher, foreign affairs analyst, former diplomat, research assistant at Otto von Habsburg Foundation. He completed his secondary education in Budapest, and pursued university studies in Budapest, Piliscsaba, Paris, Lyon, Leuven, and Fribourg in Switzerland, on the subjects of history, French language, international relations, European studies and theology. He received a degree in 2001 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Pázmány Péter Catholic University. In 2002, he gained a degree in European communication in Lyon, and he was awarded a PhD summa cum laude, in the history of modern international relations at Paris-Sorbonne University in 2009. He started his career at PPKE Institute of History and at the International Relations Department of Corvinus University of Budapest as assistant professor and lecturer. From 2010 he worked as senior associate of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (later called Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade), as a France and European Union expert. Between 2013 and 2016, he was lecturer of the Council of PPKE BTK School of History. Between 2015 and 2019 he worked as diplomat at the Embassy of Hungary in Paris. He is a member of several Hungarian and European professional research groups, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ (MTA’s) public body, and recipient of several French and Hungarian science awards. His publications are available in the Hungarian National Scientific Bibliography (MTMT) database. He is married, with three children.
Senior Archivist
Eszter Gaálné Barcs graduated from the Szent Margit Secondary School in Budapest. Between 1988 and 1999, she worked as an assistant in the Map Department of the Institute and Museum of Military History. She earned her degrees in history and archival studies in 2004 at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University. From 2004 to 2021, she worked at the Pest County Archives of the Hungarian National Archives. She participated in the collecting, public education and archiving tasks and was the local project manager of the “Hetedíziglen” family history programme. From 2009 onwards, she worked as a lecturer at the Department of Auxiliary Sciences of History at Eötvös Loránd University. Within the framework of her research, she published mainly studies on church and legal history. Her publications are available in the MTMT database. As a member of the Foundation’s staff, she is involved in the organisation of the collection. She speaks German and French. She is married and the mother of two children.
Archivist
Anett Hammer-Nacsa graduated from the English bilingual class of the Eötvös József High School in Tata. She pursued her university studies at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, majoring in history (with a specialization in the history and practice of cultural heritage) and graduated with a Master's degree in 2019. She also studied at the University of Salzburg on an Erasmus scholarship and did her internship at the Hungarian National Museum. Between 2015 and 2019, she worked at the Royal Palace of Gödöllő, where she presented the history of the castle and its inhabitants to Hungarian, German and English-speaking guests. After finishing her studies, she worked for a year at the Excavation Project Office of the Budapest History Museum. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, she is responsible for the organisation and maintenance of the archival holdings.
Event Coordinator
Lili Herczeg graduated from the Kölcsey Ferenc High School, then received her Bachelor's Degree in Hungarian Studies at ELTE, majoring in creative writing. During her university years, she worked as a producer for a commercial film production company, and after finishing her studies, she gained experience as a freelance production manager in various media genres: she worked on commercials, educational and campaign videos, international campaigns, and also had the opportunity to try her hand at television production. Since July 2022, she has been working as an events coordinator for our Foundation, drawing on her many years of experience in the field of organisation.
Archivist
Eszter Kardonné Fábry completed his secondary education in Budapest, then studied art history, Hungarian language and literature at Eötvös Loránd University, where she obtained a degree in Humanities in 1987. After one year of additional pedagogical training, she also earned a teacher’s degree for secondary education. In her final year, in parallel with her university studies, she worked as a research assistant in the Old Master Paintings Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts. After graduating, she became a librarian at the National Széchényi Library. From the spring of 1988, she worked in the Old Master Paintings Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts as a museologist and then as a senior museologist. She has worked as a curator of early German and Dutch painting and has helped to plan and organize several exhibitions, including projects with foreign collections. She also gained international experience by coordinating the international and national loans of holdings from the collection, while also being responsible for the professional preparation and organisation of the restoration of the paintings. She was author of catalogue items for several exhibitions and performed editorial and proofreading activities. Due to her husband’s diplomatic service, she spent four years in Germany with her family. She is married, mother of three children, and grandmother. As the archivist of the Foundation, she is responsible for taking care of Otto von Habsburg’s writings and articles in foreign languages and for building the database from these sources.
Collection Fellow
Bence Kocsev attended the Grammar School of the Reformed College of Pápa and then studied history and sociology at Eötvös Loránd University, where he obtained his master’s degree in history in 2015. Simultaneously with his university studies, he was a member of the St. Ignatius Jesuit College of Advanced Studies. In 2016, he began his doctoral studies in Budapest and Leipzig. From 2016 to 2020, he worked as a research fellow at the Collaborative Research Centre 1199 at Leipzig University and at the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO). Within the framework of his research, he focused mainly on the economic and social history of the Cold War. Upon return, he worked at the Antall József Knowledge Centre as head of the Győr Office until the end of 2021. As a collection fellow of the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, he is responsible for the organisation and maintenance of the archival holdings as well as for the planning of events. He speaks English, German and Dutch.
Collection Fellow
Piroska Kocsis graduated in Kaposvár. She earned a primary school teacher’s qualification at Zsámbék Catholic Teacher Training College, a secondary school education degree at Eötvös Loránd University Teacher Training College, and a degree in History for secondary education at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen. From 1978 she worked for the Hungarian National Archives (National Archives of Hungary) as head archivist and principal administrator. In the Archive she worked at the Department of pre-1945 Political Government Agencies, later at the Department of post-1945 Political Government Agencies, and at the Document Management Supervisory Department. He worked as assistant archivist and case assistant, in addition she organised and provided archivist and record manager training courses. She has published several studies and sources on 20th century Hungarian history and archival issues. Besides her public education activity, she participated in the organisation of exhibitions, publishing and editing catalogues; one of these was the exhibition on the occasion of the 100th birthday of Otto von Habsburg located in the National Archives of Hungary, related to the scientific conference of autumn 2012 that she organised with Zoltán Ólmosi. She is a member of the Association of Hungarian Archivists. In 1986 she received minister's praise, and in 2014 she won the Pro Archivo Regni award. At the Foundation she is responsible for building databases and organising the archives as part of an assignment contract. She is a mother of two children.
Collection Fellow
Zita Lőrincz graduated from the Piarist High School in Kecskemét. She obtained her bachelor's degree in History at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Pázmány Péter Catholic University. She completed her internship at the National Archives of Hungary. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, she is contributing to the organisation of the photo collection, the compilation of an archival catalogue and the preparation for digitisation as part of an assignment contract.
Financial Officer
Ágnes Martonosi is the economic operator of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. She completed her secondary education in Budapest, and she earned a CPA qualification and a degree in economics at the Faculty of Finance and Accountancy of the College of Finance and Accountancy. During her career she worked as chief financial officer for Fantázia Rt (Fantasy public limited company), and Meteor Rt (Meteor public limited company), and for GRIFF Kft (GRIFF Ltd) as executive director. Between 2003 and 2018 she worked in the public administration; she was the head of department and the economic leader of the Office for Hungarians beyond the Borders, and later she became the deputy head of the Financial and Salary Management Department at the Ministry of Youth, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of Hungary, and its successor the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, and the Economic Department of the Ministry of Human Capacities. She is a mother of two children.
Collection Fellow
Péter Matolcsi attended the St. Elizabeth of Hungary High School in Esztergom. Between 2021 and 2024, he pursued his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University, majoring in history (archival specialization). He completed internships as an archivist at the Pest County Archives of the Hungarian National Archives and at the Central Archives of the Hungarian Lutheran Church. He is currently enrolled at the archives master's programme of Eötvös Loránd University. Since 2022, he has been an active member of the history working group of the Eötvös József Collegium. His research interests include the history of the early modern period in Hungary, and the history of administration. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, under an assignment contract, he is responsible for the organisation of the general correspondence of our namesake for the period 1951–1956, the preparation of the auxiliary records and the processing of the diaries kept throughout the childhood of Otto von Habsburg and his siblings.
Office Assistant
Ferenc Nagy studied in Budapest in the field of engineering. During his career he worked for companies specialized in information technology and transportation, and for 18 years he was an operational employee of the Federal Express Corporation delivery service. At the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, he is responsible for the day-to-day running of the office, as well as for mobilisation. He also contributes to the digitisation of the collection. He is married and the father of two children.
Chief Financial Officer
Ágnes Pásztor is the finance manager of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. She completed her secondary education in Hatvan, and she earned a degree in administration management at the Faculty of Public Administration of Corvinus University of Budapest. In the course of her career she worked for the National Association of Hungarian Journalists, for the Hungarian General Directorate of Water Management, and for the Ministry of Environment and Water; subsequently, she worked for the Ministry of Youth, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of Hungary, and its successor the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, and she became deputy head of the Economic Department of the Ministry of Human Capacities. She is a mother of two children.
Director
Gergely Prőhle former ambassador, Director of Otto von Habsburg Foundation. He completed his secondary education in Budapest, and pursued university studies in Budapest, Jena, and Hamburg in German studies, Hungaristics and international relations; he received a degree in 1989 at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). During his career he worked for the ELTE Lectorate of Foreign Languages, led Friedrich Naumann Stiftung’s representation in Hungary, and became permanent undersecretary in charge of culture in 1998. From 2000 to 2005 he was Hungary’s ambassador to Berlin and later to Bern. Subsequently, he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in various positions, which he interrupted for four years: he worked for an international consultancy firm in the business sector. He was responsible for EU Bilateral Relations as Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, later Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Human Capacities, but his portfolio also included the V4 cooperation and the Central European Initiative. Prior to his current mandate he was the director-general of Petőfi Literary Museum in Budapest. From 2006 he has been Lay President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, recipient of distinguished Hungarian, German, Italian and Polish state honours. He regularly publishes in journals and periodicals. He is a father of four children.
Senior Archivist
Ádám Suslik (PhD), historian, archivist, collection fellow at the Otto von Habsburg Foundation. He attended secondary school at the Reformed Lyceum of Nagybereg, and pursued his university studies in Transcarpathia and Budapest. In 2017, he obtained a doctorate degree at the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, the subject of his dissertation being the military administration and public administration of the First World War. From 2018, he worked at the Győr-Moson-Sopron County Archives of the National Archives, where he was responsible for documents related to the Hungarian Soviet Republic. From 2019 to 2024, he was in charge of the Ministry of the Interior Archives within the Department of Pre-1945 Government Authorities of the National Archives, and for a period he also held the position of Deputy Head of Department. Between 2018 and 2021, he was part of the Greek Catholic Heritage Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Besides working as an archivist, he is also actively engaged in research in Austrian and Hungarian archives. He is a member of the István Hajnal Circle, the Hungarian Historical Society, the Association of Hungarian Archivists and the Public Association of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His main field of research is the economic, military and social history of the 20th century. His publications are available in the MTMT database. He is married, father of two children.
Librarian
Ferenc Vasbányai completed his secondary education in Budapest. He earned a degree in library science, history, and Hungarian grammar and literature at Eötvös Loránd University. He led the European Documentation Centre at the Department of International Private Law of ELTE Faculty of Law for three years (1999-2002). Between 2002 and 2006 he taught Modern World History and 20th-century Hungarian History at ELTE Teacher Training College. As employee of National Széchényi Library, he carried out the analytical exploration of partial documents published in the field of humanities (2007-2019). He is responsible for the maintenance of Otto von Habsburg Foundation’s library stock. He is married, with two children.
Archivist
Beáta Vitos-Merza graduated from the Móricz Zsigmond Grammar School in Szentendre. She began her university studies at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, majoring in history (with a specialization on ancient history). In 2020, she obtained a Master’s degree in historical museology at Eötvös Loránd University. She completed her internship at the Géza Kresz Rescue Museum and the Semmelweis Museum of Medical History of the Hungarian National Museum, where she was involved in organising events and exhibitions as well as in collection tasks. At the latter museum, she worked as a volunteer for two years. She works as an archivist at the Otto von Habsburg Foundation, where she is responsible for organising and maintaining documents.