Péter Bakonyi

From 1965 he was a scientific associate at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Computer Science and Automation Research Institute (SZTAKI), then head of department, and from 1982 deputy scientific director. Between 1975 and 1990 he managed the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' computer center.

Meanwhile, he earned his doctorate from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Budapest University of Technology (BME) in 1970. From 1974, his research field was computer networks. In 1987, he taught as a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina.

Between 1991 and 2001, he was the IT manager of the Allianz Hungária insurance company. At the same time, he became the IT advisor to the Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in a second position.
In addition, he retained his academic status on a part-time basis, thus continuing to lead the National Information Infrastructure (NIIF) Program, which had begun in 1986, until 1999: distributed computer network services were established in Hungary, thus laying the foundations for the domestic introduction of the Internet.
Meanwhile, he also taught at the university and was a professional advisor to the Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

In 2002, he was again the Deputy Director of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences SZTAKI. From June 2002 to December 2004, he was the Deputy State Secretary for Information Society Strategy of the Ministry of Informatics and Communications. From December 2004, he returned to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences SZTAKI as Deputy Director. From 2011, he was the Senior Advisor to the Hungarian University of Technology. Between 2004 and 2008, he was a member of the National Council for Information and Communications, delegated by the government.

He is an honorary associate professor at BME and an honorary professor at the Budapest College of Technology (BMF) since 2007.

From 2002 to 2008, he was the president of the Hungarian National Union of Journalists; then honorary president from 2013. From 1990, he served as the executive president of the Hungarnet Association.

His awards include: Eötvös Loránd Prize (Council of Ministers, 1964 and 1986); Széchenyi Prize (1993); Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2003); Neumann Prize (NJSZT, 2014).