Press Release – Ministry of Human Resources – May 9, 2013

The hysteria around the selection of the director of the Ludwig Museum is clearly the consequence of political incitement.

9 May 2013, 15:28

The mandate of the director of the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest was given for a fixed term and expired on 28 February 2013. The information published in the press – according to which the Portfolio has replaced Barnabas Bencsik in an anti-democratic way – is incorrect, and is clearly the result of political incitement. Press Release.

The mandate of the director of the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest expired on 28 February 2013. It was known by Barnabas Bencsik – immediately from the date of his appointment as director – that his mandate would end on 28 February 2013. The Ludwig Museum is a public budgetary organ; provisions in accordance with appointments are regulated by Act XXXIII of the 1992 law on the Legal status of civil servants, and their implementation is laid out in Government Decree 150/1992. (20.XI.). On the basis of democratic procedure, the Ministry of Human Resources announced a public call for tenders on 1 March 2013.

In making the public announcement for tenders, the Portfolio for Culture followed the same procedures as in 2008, when Barnabas Bencsik was appointed. The tenders received were reviewed and evaluated by the proposing committee set up by the Minister of Human Resources, just as in 2008. Referred to in Article 20/A § (7) of Public Law, the content of tenders shall not be made public or communicated without the consent of the third party, just as in 2008.

Zoltán Balog, Minister of Human Resources, will appoint the next director of the Ludwig Museum in a democratic way by 12 June 2013, acting in accordance with the conditions laid out in Article 20/A. § (6), regulated by Act XXXIII of the 1992 law. Thus, the hysteria of the last weeks is unnecessary nonsense. It is worth remembering that in 2008, the Minister at the time appointed Barnabas Bencsik from among the two supported candidates of the professional committee, on the basis of arguments that are still unclear.

Department of Press, Communications, Public Relations and Protocol
Ministry of Human Resources (EMMI)