May 27, 2002 Monday

 SECTION: International News

 LENGTH: 464 words

 HEADLINE: Biographies of main ministers in Hungary's new cabinet

 DATELINE: BUDAPEST, May 27

 BODY:
 Following are short biographies of the main ministers of Hungary's new governing coalition.

 Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy, 59, was twice finance minister before abandoning politics to work in the banking sector. A member of the central committe of
 Eastern Europe's most reformist Communist party until 1989, he was asked by the new Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) to run for prime minister in the April
 general election. He led the party to victory but is still not an official member. Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs, 63, returns to a post he held between 1994 and
 1998. Trained in economic sciences, since 1998 he has headed the Hungarian Socialist party, of which he is a founding member. He speaks English and
 Russian.

 Defence Minister Ferenc Juhasz, 42, has been vice president of the Socialist Party since 2000. He was deputy head of parliament's defence committee
 between 1996 and 2002.

 Finance Minister Csaba Laszlo, 39, has no party affiliation. He was deputy state secretary of the finance ministry in 1998-99, where he worked with
 Medgyessy, before occupying a leading post in Dutch bank ABN AMRO. He has also worked for the IMF and Hungary's National Bank and lectured at the
 Budapest Economy University.

 Economy Minister Istvan Csillag, 50, is a lawyer and economist by training. He worked for the finance ministry between 1974 and 1986, before becoming
 managing director and deputy head of the independent Penzuegykutato economic research institute. He is the most senior minister from the Liberal Alliance
 of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), the junior partner in the governing coalition.

 Interior Minister Monika Lamperth, 45, is a lawyer. She has been vice-president of the Socialist Party since 1998.

 Justice Minister Peter Barandy, 53, is a defence attorney from a celebrated Hungarian family of lawyers. He has been secretary-general of the Hungarian
 Chamber of Attorneys since 1992. He has no party affiliation.

 Health Minister Judit Csehak, 62, returns to a portfolio she held between 1987 and 1990. Trained as a doctor, she is a member of the Socialist Party and was
 its vice-president between 1994 and 1996.

 Agriculture Minister Imre Nemeth, 47, trained as an agricultural engineer. He has led an agricultural organisation and was elected to parliament on the
 Socialist list. He has served on parliament's agricultural committee.

 Education Minister Balint Magyar, 50, was culture minister between 1996 and 1998. A sociologist by training, he led the SZDSZ between 1998 and 2000.

 Culture Minister Gabor Goergey, 73, is a writer who does not belong to any party. He was cultural director of state-run Hungarian Television (MTV) between
 1994 and 1996 and worked as a journalist for the Magyar Nemzet daily newspaper between 1959 and 1994.