Politics of Hungary#Ministries
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{{Infobox political system
| name = Politics of Hungary
| native_name = {{lang|hu|Magyarország politikája}}
| image = Coat of arms of Hungary.svg
| image_size = 101
| caption = Coat of arms of Hungary
| type = Unitary parliamentary republic
Hybrid regime Electoral autocracy
| constitution = Constitution of Hungary (2011)
| formation = 23 October 1989 (Third Hungarian Republic){{-}}1 January 2012 (current constitution entered into force)
| legislature = National Assembly
| legislature_type = Unicameral
| legislature_place = Hungarian Parliament Building
| legislature_speaker = László Kövér
| legislature_speaker_title = President of the National Assembly of Hungary
| upperhouse =
| upperhouse_speaker =
| upperhouse_speaker_title =
| upperhouse_appointer =
| lowerhouse =
| lowerhouse_speaker =
| lowerhouse_speaker_title =
| lowerhouse_appointer = Partially parallel, partially compensatory voting: 106 FPTP seats, 93 PR seats with 5% electoral threshold (D'Hondt method)
| title_hos = President
| current_hos = Tamás Sulyok
| appointer_hos = National Assembly
| title_hog = Prime Minister
| current_hog = Viktor Orbán
| appointer_hog = National Assembly
| title_hosag =
| current_hosag =
| appointer_hosag =
| cabinet = Government of Hungary
| current_cabinet = Fifth Orbán Government
| cabinet_leader = Prime Minister
| cabinet_deputyleader = Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister
| cabinet_appointer = National Assembly
| cabinet_hq = Carmelite Monastery of Buda
| cabinet_ministries = 15
| judiciary =
| judiciary_head =
| courts =
| court =
| chief_judge =
| court_seat =
| court1 = Constitutional Court of Hungary
| chief_judge1 = Barnabás Lenkovics
| court_seat1 = 1015 Budapest, Donáti utca, 35-45.
| court2 = Curia of Hungary
| chief_judge2 = András Baka
| court_seat2 = 1055 Budapest, Markó utca 16.
| civil_service =
| leader_cs =
| chief_cs =
| membership_cs =
| auditory =
| leader_auditory =
| chief_auditory =
| membership_auditory =
}}
{{Politics of Hungary}}
The politics of Hungary take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The prime minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the president is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position. As of 2024, The country is considered "no longer a full democracy" by the EU, and is generally said to have democratically backslid since 2010 when the Fidesz–KDNP Party Alliance led by Viktor Orbán won a two-third parliamentary supermajority and adopted a new constitution of Hungary that have both remained in place since.{{Cite journal |last1=Bakke |first1=Elisabeth |last2=Sitter |first2=Nick |date=March 2022 |title=The EU's Enfants Terribles: Democratic Backsliding in Central Europe since 2010 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/eus-enfants-terribles-democratic-backsliding-in-central-europe-since-2010/10CE615BAD56E79125E828D321641C0A |journal=Perspectives on Politics |language=en |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=22–37 |doi=10.1017/S1537592720001292 |issn=1537-5927|hdl=20.500.14018/13797 |hdl-access=free }}
Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The party system since the last elections has been dominated by the conservative Fidesz. The three larger oppositions are Democratic Coalition (DK), Momentum and Jobbik; there are also opposition parties with a small fraction in parliament (e.g. Politics Can Be Different). The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Hungary is an independent state, which has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Since 1989 Hungary has been a parliamentary republic. Legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly that consists of 199 members. Members of the National Assembly are elected for four years.
In the April 2022 election, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán won a fourth consecutive term in office. His party, Fidesz, secured another two-thirds majority in parliament.{{Cite news |last1=Dougall |first1=David Mac |last2=Palfi |first2=Rita |date=3 April 2022 |title=Key Takeaways as Viktor Orbán Wins Fourth Consecutive Term |language=en |work=Euronews |url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/04/03/hungary-election-live-voting-closes-as-viktor-orban-seeks-fifth-term-in-office |access-date=7 May 2022}}
Executive branch
{{office-table}}
{{multiple image
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Sulyok Tamás hivatalos portréja (cropped).jpg
| width1 = 166
| caption1 = Tamás Sulyok,
President since 2024
| image2 = Viktor Orban 2021 crop.jpg
| width2 = 156
| caption2 = Viktor Orbán,
Prime Minister since 2010
}}
|Independent
|5 March 2024
|-
|29 May 2010
|}
The president of the republic, elected by the National Assembly every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, but they are nominally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and their powers include the nomination of the prime minister, who is to be elected by a majority of the votes of the members of Parliament, based on the recommendation made by the president of the republic. If the president dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties, the speaker of the National Assembly becomes acting president.
Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-World War II Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the prime minister has a leading role in the executive branch as he selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them (similarly to the competences of the German federal chancellor). Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings, survive a vote by the Parliament and must be formally approved by the president.
The laws are decided by the Diet of Hungary and later by the National Assembly.
In Communist Hungary, the executive branch of the Hungarian People's Republic was represented by the Council of Ministers.
Legislative branch
{{office-table}}
|Speaker of the National Assembly
|6 August 2010
|}
{{main|Elections in Hungary}}
File:Budapest Parlament1.jpg.]]
The unicameral, 199-member National Assembly (Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. Its members are elected for a four-year term. The election threshold is 5%, but it only applies to the multi-seat constituencies and the compensation seats, not the single-seat constituencies.
Political parties and elections
{{elect|List of political parties in Hungary|Elections in Hungary|}}
{{#section-h:2022 Hungarian parliamentary election|Results}}
In the 2022 Hungarian election there were two main coalitions as well as some minor parties who had the ability to put together a party list. The two largest were the right-wing FIDESZ-KDNP coalition, and the big tent (mostly fromm center-right to left-wing) United for Hungary a coalition which consists of the following parties: DK, MSZP, Jobbik, Dialogue-The Greens' Party, LMP - Hungary's Green Party, and Momentum. There were also associate parties and movements such as ÚVNP, Liberals, New Start, MMM, 99 movement. There minor parties mentioned above who were not part of these two coalitions are as folllows: the far-right Our Homeland Movement which also won seats during the 2022 elections, a joke party called Hungarian Two Tailed Dog Party, Megoldás Mozgalom, a party which wants to digitalize, and a party called Normális Élet Pártja primarly an anti-vaccine party. Another larger coalition was the so called Leftist Alliance, comprising the socilaist ISZOMM (Igen Szolidaitás Mozgalom) and the communist Munkáspárt, and altough they were unable to create a party list due to lacking enough signatures, however they still ran in 66 constituencies according to the electoral commision of Hungary {{Cite web |title=Nemzeti Választási Iroda - Országgyűlési Választás 2022. |url=https://vtr.valasztas.hu/ogy2022/jelolo-szervezetek/ISZOMM-1019?tab=individual |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=vtr.valasztas.hu |language=hu}}
Judicial branches
File:Constitutional Court of Hungary.JPG.]]
A fifteen-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body was last filled in July 2010. Members are elected for a term of twelve years. Critics of the ruling coalition contend that since the Hungarian government filled the Constitutional Court with loyal judges, the institution mostly serves to legitimize government interests and has lost its original purpose as democratic defender of the rule of law and of human rights - as several reports of independent human rights NGOs, such as the Hungarian Helsinki Committee emphasize.{{cite web | url=https://helsinki.hu/en/hungarys-government-has-taken-control-of-the-constitutional-court/ | title=Hungary's Government Has Taken Control of the Constitutional Court | date=25 March 2015 }}
The president of the Supreme Court of Hungary (Curia) and the Hungarian civil and penal legal system he leads is fully independent of the Executive Branch.
The attorney general or chief prosecutor of Hungary is currently fully independent of the executive branch, but his status is actively debated.
Several ombudsman offices exist in Hungary to protect civil, minority, educational and ecological rights in non-judicial matters. They have held the authority to issue legally binding decisions since late 2003.
Financial branch
The central bank, the Hungarian National Bank was fully self-governing between 1990 and 2004, but new legislation gave certain appointment rights to the executive branch in November 2004 which is disputed before the Constitutional Court.
Administrative divisions
Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular – megye), 23 urban counties* (megyei jogú városok, singular – megyei jogú város), and 1 capital city** (főváros); Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Békéscsaba*, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Budapest**, Csongrád, Debrecen*, Dunaújváros*, Eger*, Érd*, Fejér, Győr*, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Hódmezővásárhely*, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komárom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nógrád, Nyíregyháza*, Pécs*, Pest, Salgótarján*, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekszárd*, Székesfehérvár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabánya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Veszprém*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*
Involvement in international organisations
Hungary is a member of the ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, CEPI EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by 1 May 2004), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, Visegrád Group, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, and the Zangger Committee.
Ministries
Note: with restructuring and reorganisation, this information may change even within a governmental period.
class="wikitable" | ||
English name | Hungarian name | Minister |
---|---|---|
The Prime Minister's Office | Miniszterelnökség | Gergely Gulyás |
The Prime Minister's Cabinet Office | A Miniszterelnöki Kabinetiroda | Antal Rogán |
Ministry of Home Affairs | Belügyminisztérium | Sándor Pintér |
Ministry of Defence | Honvédelmi Minisztérium | Tibor Benkő |
Ministry of Human Resources | Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma | Miklós Kásler |
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade | Külgazdasági és Külügyminisztérium | Péter Szijjártó |
Ministry of Justice | Igazságügyi Minisztérium | Judit Varga |
Ministry of Finance | Pénzügyminisztérium | Mihály Varga |
Ministry of Agriculture | Agrárminisztérium | István Nagy |
Ministry of Innovation and Technology | Innovációs és Technológiai Minisztérium | László Palkovics |
=Ministers without portfolio=
Notes
{{notelist}}