Prime Minister of Hungary

The prime minister of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország miniszterelnöke) is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The current holder of the office is Viktor Orbán, leader of the Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance, who has served since 29 May 2010.[3]

Prime Minister of Hungary
Magyarország miniszterelnöke
Coat of arms used by the Prime Minister[1]
Incumbent
Viktor Orbán
since 29 May 2010
  • Government of Hungary
  • Office of the Prime Minister
StyleMr. Prime Minister (informal)
His Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of
Reports toNational Assembly
SeatCarmelite Monastery (Budapest, Színház Street 5-7)
NominatorPresident of Hungary
AppointerElected by National Assembly
Term lengthFour years, no term limit
Inaugural holderCount Lajos Batthyány
Formation17 March 1848
DeputyDeputy Prime Minister
Salary4 823 000 Ft monthly[2]
WebsiteThe Prime Minister's Office https://www.miniszterelnok.hu/
Politics of Hungary
Constitution
  • 1949 Constitution
Executive
  • President (list)
    Katalin Novák
  • Government
    Current cabinet
    Prime Minister (list)
    Viktor Orbán
Parliament
  • National Assembly
    Speaker: László Kövér
  • Political parties
    Fidesz
    Christian Democratic People's
    Party (KDNP)
    Jobbik
    Politics Can Be Different (LMP)
    Dialogue for Hungary (PM)
    Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)
    Democratic Coalition (DK)
    Momentum Movement (M)
    Everybody's Hungary Movement (MMM)
    Our Homeland Movement (MH)
Recent elections
    • Parliamentary: 2014
    • 2018
    • 2022
    • Presidential: 2017
    • 2022
    • next
    • Local: 2010
    • 2014
    • 2019
    • European: 2014
    • 2019
    • 2024
Budapest
Mayor of Budapest
Gergely Karácsony
Mayoral elections
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2019
Administrative divisions
  • Districts
  • Counties
  • Regions
  • Subregions
Foreign relations
  • Austria–Hungary relations
  • China–Hungary relations
  • France–Hungary relations
  • Germany–Hungary relations
  • Hungary–Italy relations
  • Hungary–Russia relations
  • Hungary–United Kingdom relations
  • Hungary–United States relations
  • Politics of the European Union
  •  Hungary portal
  • Other countries

According to the Hungarian Constitution, the prime minister is nominated by the president of Hungary and formally elected by the National Assembly. Constitutionally, the president is required to nominate the leader of the political party who wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly as prime minister.[4] If there is no party with a majority, the president holds an audience with the leaders of all parties represented in the assembly and nominates the person who is most likely to command a majority in the assembly, who is then formally elected by a simple majority of the assembly. In practice, when this situation occurs, the prime minister is the leader of the party winning a plurality of votes in the election, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition.

Official title

The title of Hungary's head of government in Hungarian is miniszterelnök. Literally translated, this means "minister-president". However, since "prime minister" or "premier" is the more usual title in a parliamentary system for a head of government in English-speaking nations, the title is translated as "prime minister" by most English sources.

History of the office
Portrait of Count Lajos Batthyány by Miklós Barabás, 1848. He was appointed as Hungary's first Prime Minister.

Palatine of Hungary

The palatine (Latin: comes palatii, comes palatinus, later palatinus (regni), Hungarian: nádorispán/nádor, Slovak: nádvorný župan / nádvorný špán, later: palatín/nádvorník, German: Palatin) was the highest dignitary in the Kingdom of Hungary after the king (a kind of powerful Prime Minister and supreme judge) from the kingdom's rise up to 1848/1918.

Initially, he was in fact the representative of the king, later the vice-regent (viceroy). In the early centuries of the kingdom, he was appointed by the king, later elected by the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary. After the Habsburgs solidified their hold of Hungary, the dignity became an appointed position once again. Finally, it became hereditary in a cadet (junior) branch of the Habsburg dynasty after King Francis appointed his brother Joseph.

Creation of the position

During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 the revolutionaries wanted the creation of a Hungarian cabinet which would be independent from the Austrian Empire and the Buda Chancellery (which was office of the imperial governor-general). One of the 12 points said: 2. A responsible government in Buda-Pest.

Ferdinand V appointed Count Lajos Batthyány for the position of prime minister of Hungary on 17 March 1848. The government was called ministry, differently from the current acceptation. The ministries were called departments. The position was vacant after the defeat of the freedom fight.

Living former prime ministers

As of November 2022, five former prime ministers of Hungary are alive. Viktor Orbán, who served as prime minister from 1998 to 2002, is currently serving and thus is not included on this list.

NameTerm of officeDate of birth
Miklós Németh 1988–1990 (1948-01-24) 24 January 1948
Péter Boross 1993–1994 (1928-08-27) 27 August 1928
Péter Medgyessy 2002–2004 (1942-10-19) 19 October 1942
Ferenc Gyurcsány 2004–2009 (1961-06-04) 4 June 1961
Gordon Bajnai 2009–2010 (1968-03-05) 5 March 1968

See also
  • Records of prime ministers of Hungary
  • List of prime ministers of Hungary by tenure
  • List of prime ministers of Hungary (graphical)
  • List of heads of state of Hungary
  • List of Hungarian monarchs
  • List of palatines of Hungary

References
  1. "2011. évi CCII. törvény Magyarország címerének és zászlajának használatáról, valamint állami kitüntetéseiről" [Act CCII of 2011 on the Use of the Coat of Arms and Flag of Hungary and on State Awards]. CompLex Hatályos Jogszabályok Gyűjteménye (in Hungarian) – via net.jogtar.hu.
  2. Nagy Máté (10 Sep 2022). "Így változott Orbán Viktor fizetése 2010 óta". Index (in Hungarian). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. "Members of the Government". Website of the Hungarian Government. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  4. The Fundamental Law of Hungary (PDF) – via Nemzeti Jogszabálytár.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prime ministers of Hungary.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.