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Lajos Simicska (born 28 January 1960) is a former Hungarian business magnate, a former politician of Fidesz, and he was the head of APEH, Hungary's internal revenue service between 1998–1999, during the first government of Viktor Orbán.[1] He was the ninth richest person in Hungary in 2016 (dropped to 49th in 2020). He had extensive media interests, which included Magyar Nemzet, the number one daily conservative newspaper, the radio station Lánchíd Rádió, the weekly magazine Heti Válasz and the television network Hír TV. According to the Influence Barometer, in 2014 he was the 3rd most influential person in Hungary. He has a son Ádám Lajos Simicska who is also a businessman.
The public considered him one of Fidesz 's main allies and beneficiaries. He was a member of the István Bibó vocational college, which later served as the core of Fidesz. Afterwards he became the treasurer of Fidesz, and between 1998–1999 he was the president of APEH. As a businessman, he became the owner of Közgép and the CEO of Mahir, and the opposition regularly criticized the fact that his companies won significantly more state tenders during the rule of Fidesz.