140 years of the Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard

Abstract

The Customs and Finance Guard marks the 140th anniversary of its establishment in 2007. Though the legal institution of customs and excise, these two important branches of the profession of fiscal administration, looks back on a history of one thousand years – all the way back to St. Stephen's laws, also to a number of documents of historical significance, to King Andrew II's Golden Bull of 1222, for example – 1867 is the most significant year for the organisation, when Minister of Finance Count Menyhért Lónyay, in his Circular Decree No. 1 . of 10th March, provided for the establishment of the independent Hungarian Royal Finance Guard. Throughout its 140-year-long history, the organisation went through significant development in terms of organisational structure and evolution of the profession, with continuously widening scopes of authority, with extensive investigative powers that are of unprecedented breadth not only among the national public administration organisations, but also among the customs administrations of the EU Member States. On 10 March 2007, the top-level leaders of the Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard, in the presence of high ranking guests of honour – President of the Supreme Court Zoltán Lomnici, Minister of Finance János Veres, chiefs of partner agencies, heads of civilian professional partner organisations – remembered the history, the development and achievements of the organisation in the one-time building of the Ministry of Finance on Trinity Square in the Buda Castle District. Following a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial plaque on the facade of the building, a ceremonial commanders' conference took place. Major General János Nagy delivered his welcome address, followed by Minister of Finance János Veres, who also tied a memorial ribbon to the flagstaff of the HC&FC flag, and placed a day-of-issue stamp on the memorial postal stamp issued by the Hungarian Postal Service to commemorate the anniversary.