Rudolf Kubiš

(*19 April 1885 in Bytča – †24 April 1951 in Bratislava)

He started his career in the banking section of the Pittsburgh firm Bankový, zmenkový a šífkartový obchod (Bank, bill of exchange and ship-card business) owned by Peter Víťazoslav Rovnianek(1904 - 1906). From 1907 he worked as an accountant in Piešťanská úverná banka. Later he worked in management positions in Ľudová banka in Nové Mesto nad Váhom (1919 – 1921) and Hospodárska banka in Bratislava (1921 – 1922). In 1922 he joined Tatra banka and from 1923 he was director of its branch in Žilina; from 1925 he worked in the Bratislava headquarters as director in charge of the audit department. In 1939 he was appointed Tatra banka's deputy chief director and in 1940 he was appointed to the position of the general director of Tatra banka.

On 23 October 1944, after the imprisonment of Imrich Karvaš, he became governor of Slovenská národná banka (SNB). He held the office of governor for a relatively short period of time (until the end of March 1945). Given the situation he did not have a significant influence on the operation of the central bank. After the suppression of the Slovak National Uprising, he focused on consolidation of relations in the bank, putting an emphasis on the highest possible elimination of losses. This plan, however, was never implemented as after amendments to the Act on SNB it was the Ministry of Finance that acquired greater influence on its decisions. Despite the fact, he continued his efforts to keep the central bank independent of the government. He withstood pressures of Germany and some Slovak government officials who required evacuation of the bank to Germany. He also prevented the transfer of Slovak legal tender reserves abroad.

He emigrated in the last days of the war. In 1948 he was sentenced by the National Court by default to eighteen months of imprisonment.