List of heads of state of Hungary explained

This article lists the heads of state of Hungary, from the Hungarian Declaration of Independence and the establishment of the Hungarian State in 1849 (during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848) until the present day.

The current head of state of Hungary is President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok, former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. He was elected on 26 February 2024 and took office on 5 March 2024.^{[1] [2]}

For earlier rulers, see Grand Prince of the Hungarians, King of Hungary and List of Hungarian monarchs.

Hungarian State (1849)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Lajos Kossuth	14 April 1849	11 August 1849		Opposition Party	Governor-President Also Prime Minister
—		Artúr Görgei	11 August 1849	13 August 1849		Revolutionary Army	Dictator Acting civil and military authority

After the collapse of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the restored Hungarian Kingdom became an integral part of the Austrian Empire until 1867, when dual Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was created and the Hungarian Kingdom was organized as Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen.

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (1867–1918)

See also: List of Hungarian monarchs.

Hungarian People's Republic (1918–1919)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Mihály Károlyi	16 November 1918	11 January 1919		F48P–Károlyi	Provisional President of the Republic Also Prime Minister
11 January 1919			21 March 1919	President of the Republic

Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Sándor Garbai	21 March 1919	1 August 1919		MSZP/SZKMMP	Chairman of the Central Executive Council

Hungarian People's Republic (1919)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Gyula Peidl	1 August 1919	6 August 1919		MSZDP	Prime Minister Acting Head of State

Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Archduke Joseph August	7 August 1919	23 August 1919		Independent (Regent)	Regent of Hungary
—		István Friedrich	23 August 1919	24 November 1919		KNP → KNEP	Acting Head of State Also Prime Minister
—		Károly Huszár	24 November 1919	1 March 1920		KNEP

Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)

Government of National Unity (1944–1945)

Parties

Soviet-backed provisional governments (1944–1946)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
—		Béla Miklós	21 December 1944	25 January 1945		Independent	Head of State Also Prime Minister
—		High National Council	26 January 1945	1 February 1946		Multi-party	Collective Head of State

Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
2		Zoltán Tildy	1 February 1946	3 August 1948		FKGP	President of the Republic
3		Árpád Szakasits	3 August 1948	23 August 1949		MDP

Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)

Chairman of the Presidential Council

See main article: Presidential Council of the Hungarian People's Republic. Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Árpád Szakasits	23 August 1949	26 April 1950		MDP	Chairman of the Presidential Council
2		Sándor Rónai	26 April 1950	14 August 1952
3		István Dobi	14 August 1952	25 October 1956
(3)			25 October 1956	14 April 1967		MSZMP
4		Pál Losonczi	14 April 1967	25 June 1987
5		Károly Németh	25 June 1987	29 June 1988
6		Brunó Ferenc Straub	29 June 1988	23 October 1989		Independent

Leader of the Hungarian Working People's Party / Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party

Parties

	Portrait	width=40% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)	width=20% rowspan=2	Notes
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Mátyás Rákosi	12 June 1948	28 June 1953		MDP	General Secretary	Also Prime Minister (1952–1953)
28 June 1953			18 July 1956	First Secretary
2		Ernő Gerő	18 July 1956		25 October 1956
3		János Kádár	25 October 1956		30/31 October 1956			Also Prime Minister (1956–1958 and 1961–1965)
(3)			1 November 1956		28 March 1985	MSZMP
28 March 1985			27 May 1988	General Secretary
4		Károly Grósz	27 May 1988		7 October 1989			Also Prime Minister (1987–1988)
5		Rezső Nyers	26 June 1989	7 October 1989			Party President

Hungarian Republic / Hungary (from 1989)

Parties

	Portrait	width=20% rowspan=2	Name	Term of office			Political party	Position(s)	Term
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
—		Mátyás Szűrös	23 October 1989	2 May 1990		MSZP	Provisional President of the Republic	—
—		Árpád Göncz	2 May 1990	2 August 1990		SZDSZ	Acting President of the Republic	—
1			3 August 1990	3 August 1995			President of the Republic	1
4 August 1995			3 August 2000	2
2		Ferenc Mádl	4 August 2000	4 August 2005		Independent		3
3		László Sólyom	5 August 2005	5 August 2010				4
4		Pál Schmitt	6 August 2010	2 April 2012		Fidesz		5
—		László Kövér	2 April 2012	9 May 2012			Acting President of the Republic	—
5		János Áder	10 May 2012	9 May 2017			President of the Republic	6
10 May 2017			9 May 2022	7
6		Katalin Novák	10 May 2022	26 February 2024				8
—		László Kövér	26 February 2024	4 March 2024			Acting President of the Republic	—
7		Tamás Sulyok	5 March 2024	Incumbent		Independent	President of the Republic	9

See also

• List of Hungarian monarchs
• List of prime ministers of Hungary

External links

• Rulers.org

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2024-02-26 . Hungary parliament elects new president following scandal . 2024-02-27 . Al Jazeera. en.
2. Web site: 2024-02-27 . Hungarian parliament elects new president after predecessor resigned in scandal . 2024-02-27 . Associated Press . en.