Brúnó Straub F.

Nagyvárad, 5 January 1914 – Budapest, 15 February 1996
Biochemist with the Kossuth Prize awarded twice, academician, politician, Head of State

Director General of the BRC of the HAS („MTA”): 1970-1977
Director of the Institute of Enzimology of the BRC of the HAS („MTA”): 1978 – 1987

Brunó Straub F. received higher education at Szeged University, where he obtained an MA degree in chemistry and humanities. He began his scientific research career working for Albert Szent-Györgyi between 1933 and 1937. From 1937 until 1939, he worked at Cambridge University under a Rockefeller scholarship. The next period of his career fell between 1945-1949, when he lectured in biochemistry as a professor at Szeged University. From 1948 until 1970, he taught at Budapest Medical University and worked as the Director of the Medical Chemistry Institute. Between 1960 and 1970, he was the Director of the Institute of Biochemistry of the HAS („MTA”). He raised funding from the UNESCO for the establishment of Szeged Biological Research Centre (BRC), where he worked as Director General from the year 1970. Besides, until 1985, he also filled in the position of Director of the Budapest Institute of Enzymology of the BRC. Between 1985 and 1990, he was also an elected Member of Parliament. Right before Hungary’s political transformation, in the years 1988 and 1989, he held the position of President of the Council of Presidents (i.e. the Head of State at the time). After Israeli Ephraim Katchalski, who was also a biochemist, he was the second well-known scientist to ever hold a head-of-state position. In addition, Brunó Straub F. also held several high offices in Hungary’s scientific public life. He was the Vice President of the HAS (“MTA”) on two occasions, between 1967 and 1973 and from 1985 until 1990. In the period between 1970 and 1978, he acted as Vice President of the National Atomic Energy Agency and from 1978 until 1988, he filled the position of Chairman of the National Environment and Nature Protection Council. He also played significant roles in different international organisations. From 1969 until 1970, he was the Vice President of the International Atomic Energy Agency; between 1974 and 1976, he worked as Vice President of the International Federation of Scientific Associations and as President from 1976 until 1978. He made a significant contribution to the making of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In the year 1946, he was elected a corresponding member of the HAS and became a full member in 1949. His activities and achievements in scientific and public life were recognised with numerous eminent prizes: he received a Kossuth Prize in 1948 and in 1958 and an Academy Gold Medal in 1981. Several foreign academies and scientific societies elected him their honorary member. His scientific research activities focused primarily on the chemistry of cellular respiration, issues related to muscular activity and the structure of enzymes. He was the first to create crystalline malate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase. He also played a role in the discovery of the old yellow enzyme (diaphorase) and actin protein. His works well-known by the general public include the books entitled “Biochemistry” (Budapest, 1949), “General Inorganic and Analytic Chemistry” (Budapest, 1950) and “Enzymes, Molecules, Vital Functions” (Budapest, 1966).