2016 in Hungary

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Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2016 List of years in Hungary

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Hungary.

Incumbents

• President: János Áder
• Prime Minister: Viktor Orbán
• Speaker of the National Assembly: László Kövér

Events

• 12 January – The European Court of Human Rights rules that secret surveillance by the Hungarian Anti-Terrorism Task Force violates privacy rights due to lack of judicial oversight and safeguards. ^[1]
• 28 February – Hungarian drama film Son of Saul , directed by László Nemes, wins the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, becoming the first Hungarian film to win the award since István Szabó's Mephisto in 1981. ^[2]
• 15 March – Tens of thousands of teachers and supporters protest in Budapest against government education reforms, demanding reduced centralisation, better conditions, and fairer pay. ^[3]
• 30 March – Schools in Hungary cancel first lessons as teachers, students, and parents protest government control of education and conservative curriculum changes. ^[4]
• 12 April – The National Assembly repeals a law enacted in March 2015, which banned the majority of retail stores and commercial establishments in the country from opening on Sundays. The decision came into effect four days later. ^{[5] [6]}
• 8 June – Approximately 550 asylum seekers are stranded outside the Röszke and Tompa transit zones without adequate humanitarian aid. ^[7]
• 5 July –
  • A new law takes effect allowing officials to summarily return migrants found up to 8 km inside Hungary’s territory to Serbia; 6,000 police are dispatched, and 151 people are returned on the first day. ^[7]
  • The ECtHR rules that Hungary arbitrarily detained an Iranian gay man, failing to account for his vulnerability due to sexual orientation. ^[1]
• 2 October – 2016 Hungarian migrant quota referendum: A national referendum is held on the European Union’s migrant quotas. 98.3% of participants vote against the quotas, but turnout is 40%, below the 50% required to make the result legally valid. ^[8]
• 8 October – The opposition daily newspaper Népszabadság ceased publication suddenly, with its owner citing financial losses and declining circulation. ^[1]

Deaths

Further information: Category:2016 deaths and Deaths in 2016

January

Main article: Deaths in January 2016

• January 1 – Vilmos Zsigmond, cinematographer (b. 1930)
• January 7
  • István Komáromi, politician (b. 1943)
  • János György Szilágyi, historian (b. 1918)
• January 17 – Jenő Váncsa, politician (b. 1928)

February

Main article: Deaths in February 2016

• February 11 – Ferenc Rudas, footballer and coach (b. 1921)
• February 25 – Irén Psota, actress (b. 1929)

March

Main article: Deaths in March 2016

• March 7 – Béla Kuharszki, footballer (b. 1940)
• March 13 – József Verebes, footballer and coach (b. 1941)
• March 17 – Zoltán Kamondi, film director, screenwriter and producer (b. 1960)
• March 20 – Sándor Csjef, amateur boxer (b. 1950)
• March 25 – Imre Pozsgay, politician (b. 1933)
• March 30 – Marianne Krencsey, actress (b. 1931)
• March 31
  • Béla Biszku, politician (b. 1921)
  • Imre Kertész, writer and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)

April

Main article: Deaths in April 2016

• April 1 – Emil Keres, actor and theatre director (b. 1925)
• April 2 – László Sárosi, footballer and coach (b. 1932)
• April 7 – László Bárczay, chess player (b. 1936)
• April 18 – Zoltán Szarka, footballer and coach (b. 1942)
• April 21 – Ferenc Paragi, javelin thrower (b. 1953)

See also

• Hungary at the 2016 Summer Olympics
• List of Hungarian films since 1990

References

1. Human Rights Watch (January 12, 2017), "Hungary: Events of 2016", Share this via Facebook, retrieved September 20, 2025
2. Szalai, Georg (February 28, 2016). "Oscars: Hungary Wins Its First Foreign-Language Honor Since Fall of Communism". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 29, 2016.
3. "Hungary teachers: Huge protest against government reforms". BBC News. March 15, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
4. "School's out in Hungary in protest at government control". euronews. March 30, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
5. "Lázár nem szavazta meg a boltzár eltörlését, Harrach mellényúlt". Origo (in Hungarian). April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
6. "Hivatalossá vált a vasárnapi boltzár eltörlése". Hirado.hu (in Hungarian). April 15, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
7. "Hungary: Migrants Abused at the Border | Human Rights Watch". July 13, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
8. Than, Krisztina; Szakacs, Gergely (October 3, 2016). "Hungarians vote to reject migrant quotas, but turnout too low to be valid". Reuters. Retrieved September 20, 2025.