David B. Cornstein
David Cornstein | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to Hungary | |
In office June 22, 2018 – October 30, 2020 | |
President | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Colleen Bell |
Succeeded by | Marc Dillard, Chargé d'Affaires |
Personal details | |
Born | David Bernard Cornstein August 17, 1938 MBA ) |
David Bernard Cornstein (born August 17, 1938) is an American businessman and diplomat who was the
Early life and education
Cornstein was born in
Career
Cornstein started his career while studying at
He was appointed to the New York Off-Track Betting Commission in 1994 and eventually became its chairman. He promoted ideas like televising races live and an 800 telephone number for gamblers to wager.[1]
Cornstein contemplated runs for Mayor of New York City in 1985 and 1991. He briefly declared himself a candidate for New York State Comptroller in 2001. Cornstein later dropped out of the race after Republicans leaders backed the eventual candidate, John Faso.[citation needed]
In September 1999, he was named chairman of TeleHubLink, a telemarketing company that produced wireless encryption products. He had been a director of What A World! since July 1993, before it changed its name to TeleHub.[
U.S. Ambassador to Hungary
A life-long Republican, Cornstein has been a frequent contributor to Republican politicians, although he has also donated to the campaigns of Democrats Chuck Schumer and Cory Booker.[11]
On February 13, 2018, United States President Donald Trump nominated Cornstein to be U.S. Ambassador to Hungary.[12] Cornstein was a long-time friend of Trump's.[13] He was a member of Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach.[3]
As Ambassador, Cornstein vocally defended the government of
In September 2018, Cornstein claimed that he had reached an agreement with Orbán that Central European University, a notable American university in Budapest, would be allowed to stay in Hungary.[2] However, in December 2018, Central European University alleged it had been kicked out of Hungary in what The Washington Post described as "a dark waypoint in Hungary's crackdown on civil society and an ominous sign for U.S. institutions operating under autocratic regimes worldwide."[2] During the same week that Central European University chose to leave Hungary, Cornstein described Orbán as a "friend" and criticized George Soros, who founded the university.[2][18][16] Cornstein stated that Soros had a crazed hatred of Orbán, which led CEU not to make concessions to stay in Hungary.[16] Cornstein mocked the size of Central European University, said that the departure of CEU "doesn't have anything to do with academic freedom", and mused why "this has become such an important subject in the world".[2][18] Asked by The Atlantic's Franklin Foer if US relations with Hungary would suffer as a result of the CEU ouster, Cornstein answered "not really."[16] When Cornstein gave his answer, his aide asked him to step out of the room; Cornstein told Foer, "I'm in trouble."[16]
In October 2019, The New York Times published a story documenting controversies in Cornstein's tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, highlighting his close support of Orbán's policies and unchecked power, as well as extravagant spending on parties.[19]
On September 15, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Budapest announced that Cornstein informed President Trump and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó that he would end his service as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary effective November 1, 2020. In doing so, the ambassador said that “it has been an honor and a privilege to serve the country that I love in a country that I have come to cherish."[20]
Personal life
Cornstein has been married to his wife Sheila for over fifty years. He is active in Jewish organizations and the Jewish community. He has one son.[21]
References
- ^ a b c d e Juice, Fred (March 4, 2018). "U.S. Ambassador to Hungary: Who Is David Cornstein?". AllGov. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Trump administration tried to save a U.S. university by playing nice with an autocrat. It failed". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Trump picks golf club, Mar-a-Lago members as ambassadors". USA Today. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^ "Lafayette alum nominated to be US Ambassador to Hungary". The Lafayette. March 9, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "U.S. Ambassador to Hungary". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Company Overview of TeleHubLink Corporation". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ Wiggins, Phillip H. (January 31, 1989). "Talking Business with Cornstein of Finlay Enterprises; A Bright Outlook For Retail Jewelry". The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- ^ Dicker, Fredric U. (April 24, 2001). "OTB BIG'S FIRM TIED TO CREDIT 'RIP-OFF'". New York Post. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "Appellate Court Affirms A.G. Authority". New York State Attorney General. February 3, 2003. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ "MATTER OF PEOPLE v. TELEH | 301 A.D.2d 1006 (2003) | d2d10062690". Leagle. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ "David Cornstein, to be named U.S. ambassador to Hungary, donated to Hungarian PM Orban's D.C. lobbyist". english.atlatszo.hu. March 9, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^ "Trump Nominates Businessman David B. Cornstein to be U.S. Ambassador to Hungary". February 28, 2018.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-19-022863-7.
- S2CID 203055524.
- ^ ISSN 1072-7825. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^ Budryk, Zack (May 9, 2019). "George Conway derides 'sick' comment by US ambassador on Trump and 'illiberal democracy'". The Hill. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^ a b Witte, Griff (December 3, 2018). "University founded by George Soros says it has been kicked out of Hungary". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ "A Message From Ambassador Cornstein". U.S. Embassy in Hungary. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/050918_Cornstein_Testimony.pdf
Further reading
- Enyedi, Zsolt (2018). "Democratic Backsliding and Academic Freedom in Hungary". Perspectives on Politics. 16 (4): 1067–1074. S2CID 150203242.