Hungarian leader of Maltese Charity, Man of the Year dies

Imre Kozma, the founder and leader of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta (MMSZ), died on Thursday morning. He was 84, the charity told MTI.

Serving as a Roman Catholic priest since 1963, Kozma founded in 1989 the Maltese Charity to care for the poor, the elderly and the homeless. In that year, the charity provided care at its Budapest compound to East German refugees in Europe’s largest humanitarian aid operation under which 48,000 refugees were taken in by Hungary, the charity said in a statement.

During the Romanian revolution, the charity supplied aid to settlements in need in the neighbouring country and during the Yugoslav Wars it offered shelter and support to many civilians.

Photo: MTI

The MMSZ led by Father Kozma has become one of Hungary’s largest charity organisations that provides daily care to 17,000 people on average in its network of institutions set up for social, educational and health-care support.

Father Kozma was leader of the charity until he turned 82.

He was the recipient of more than 30 prestigious awards. Kozma was voted Man of the Year in 1996 and received in 2003 the Hungarian Order of Merit, Middle Cross high state award, the statement said.

“God be with you”, PM Orbán wrote on his Facebook page:

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