Ambassador Simonyi met with Senator John
F. Kerry (D-Mass.) today and presented him with a copy of the birth records of the
Senator's paternal grandmother, who was born in Budapest, Hungary, in
1877. The records show that Ida Löwe was born in the Lipótváros (Leopoldstadt)
district of the Hungarian capital to an affluent Jewish merchant who
traded in rubber goods.
The
Ambassador and the Senator talked about U.S.-Hungarian bilateral
relations, as well as the potential for the state of Massachusetts to
become a technological hub for Hungarian companies. On behalf of Prime
Minister Gyurcsány, the Ambassador extended an invitation to Senator Kerry
to visit Hungary, which the Senator gladly accepted, adding that he had
fond memories of an earlier visit to Budapest in the 1990s.
Senator Kerry examining the birth documents of his
paternal grandmother, who was born in Budapest
