Our Academy

Each ILEA plays a critical function defending U.S. interests in a multilateral forum, enforcing global standards for government capacity to counter transnational criminal activity and emphasizing international cooperation.  ILEA Budapest is headed by two U.S. accredited diplomats who fall under U.S. Embasssy Budapest Chief of Mission Authority and act as Director and Deputy Director.   

Mission

The mission of the ILEA program is to strengthen democratic governance of participant countries world-wide and increase social, political and economic stability by combating transnational organized crime through international cooperation.

ILEA Budapest focuses on:

• Anti-corruption
• Cyber-enabled crime
• Countering violent extremism
• Narcotics, human and wildlife trafficking

The ILEA program advances U.S. interests in combating intercontinental organized crime by:

• Developing global relationships between the U.S. law enforcement and officials around the world
• Providing training and technical assistance to support institution building and law enforcement capabilities

History

In 1994, the United States and Hungarian governments agreed to establish a regional training academy in Hungary to professionally advance the criminal justice community.  The ILEA opened in Budapest in April, 1995 to support the criminal justice sector development in this region.  Since its founding more than 24,000 participants from countries throughout Central/Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa have trained at ILEA Budapest.   

About Hungary

Hungary is situated in East-Central Europe and it covers an area of 93 030 km2. The country’s population is less than 10 million including several minorities. However, the official language, Hungarian, is spoken by around 13 million native speakers in Europe. The capital city is Budapest with almost two million inhabitants. Hungary borders Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU and the Schengen Zone. The currency is the Hungarian Forint (HUF).

Hungary is one of the 15 most popular tourist destinations of the world. In the country, you can find numerous World Heritage Sites, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, the largest water cave system and the second largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hévíz), the largest lake in Central Europe (Lake Balaton) and the largest natural grasslands in Europe (Hortobágy).

Follow the link to find more useful and exciting information! Helpful Links