Péter Zwack

Péter János Zwack (21 May 1927 – 5 August 2012) was a Hungarian businessman, investor, philanthropist, diplomat and the Hungarian Ambassador to the United States from 1990 until 1991. He was the CEO and owner of the company Zwack.

Early life and education Zwack was born in Budapest on May 21, 1927, to Vera Wahl and János Zwack. He was born into a prominent family that owns Zwack, a company that makes liqueurs and spirits and is known specifically for producing Unicum.

Zwack attended the Szent Imre Grammar School of the Cistercian Order. Following his graduation in 1945, he studied at Peter Pazmany University in Budapest.

During World War II Budapest and the Zwack factory were completely destroyed. After the war, in 1948, the new Communist regime nationalized the factory. That same year, the Zwack family fled to the United States. The family left behind a fake recipe for Unicom and brought the original recipe with them to the United States.

In 1990, Zwack was Invited to serve as the Hungarian ambassador. He accepted the position and, in September 1990, renounced his U.S. citizenship. He served for seven months before being removed due to conflict with the deputy chief of mission.

Political career in Hungary Zwack became chairman of the Entrepreneurs' Party in 1992. Two years later, he made an electoral alliance with SZDSZ, Fidesz and the Agrarian Alliance, according to which he was the joint candidate of the four parties in Kecskemét during the 1994 Hungarian parliamentary election. He won a seat in the National Assembly of Hungary as the only independent MP. He resigned from his party leader position in 1995. Between 1995 and 1997, he was a member of the Kossuth Prize and Széchenyi Prize Committee.

During the 1998 Hungarian parliamentary election, he was supported by SZDSZ, but he did not repeat his success four years ago. After that, he joined SZDSZ. In 1999, he became a member of the party's leadership. He was one of the party's chargé d'affaires from 2000 to 2003. In 2002, he was elected as a member of the parliament again, but he resigned a half year later.

In 2008, his son, Sandor Zwack, took over as chief executive of Zwack Unicum.

Personal life Zwack married Iris Rogers in 1953. Together they had six children: Peter (1954), Gioia (1956), Alexa (1959), Iris (1961) and John (1965). They were married until 1969. He married Anne Marshall in 1973 and had two children together: a son, Sándor (1974), and a daughter, Izabella (1976).

Zwack died in Italy on 4 August 2012 at the age of 85.