Prime Minister of Hungary

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Prime Minister of Hungary
Magyarország miniszterelnöke
Coat of arms of Hungary (oak and olive branches).svg
Coat of arms used by the Prime Minister [1]
Viktor Orban Tallinn Digital Summit.jpg
Incumbent
Viktor Orbán
since 29 May 2010
Style Mr. Prime Minister (informal)
His Excellency (diplomatic)
Type Head of government
Member of
Reports toParliament
Seat Carmelite Monastery of Buda
Nominator President
AppointerElected by
National Assembly
Term length Four years, no term limit
Constituting instrument April Laws (historic)
Fundamental Law (current)
Precursor Palatine
Inaugural holder Lajos Batthyány
Formation7 March 1848
Deputy Deputy prime minister (list)
Salary7,100,000  Ft / US$21,030 monthly [2]
Website The Prime Minister's Office

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]

Contents

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 that 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. 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 Batthyany by Miklos Barabas, 1848. He was appointed as Hungary's first Prime Minister. Barabas-batthyany.jpg
Portrait of Count Lajos Batthyány by Miklós Barabás, 1848. He was appointed as Hungary's first Prime Minister.

The longest-serving prime minister is incumbent office-holder Viktor Orbán, who held the position from 6 July 1998 to 27 May 2002 and from 29 May 2010 until present-day. He surpassed Kálmán Tisza as the longest-serving prime minister on 30 November 2020. If the years are counted cumulatively, with 19 years in total as of 2025.

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 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 an 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, different from the current acceptance. The ministries were called departments. The position was vacant after the defeat of the freedom fight.

See also

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. ↑ HVG (25 February 2025). "Újra nőtt Orbán Viktor fizetése". HVG.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  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.
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