Politics of Hungary

The powers of the State

Executive: The President of the Republic, elected by the National Assembly every 5 years, has a largely ceremonial role, but he is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and his powers include the appointment of the Prime Minister and dissolving the Parliament. The prime minister selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. 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.

Legislative: the unicameral, 386-member National Assembly is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. A party must win at least 5% of the national vote to form a parliamentary faction. National parliamentary elections are held every 4 years (the last in May 2002).

Judicial : A 15-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body has never been filled completely and currently convenes with just 9 members, which verges on incapacitation.

The Chief Judge 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-judical matters. They can issue legally binding decisions since late 2003.

Financial: The National Bank of Hungary has been fully independent between 1990-2004, but new legislation has essentially subjected it to the Prime Minister's control as of November 2004. This legislation is currently pending in the Constitutional Court.

Data summary

Country name
Conventional long form:	Republic of Hungary
Conventional short form:	Hungary
Local long form:	Magyar Köztársaság
Local short form:	Magyarország

Data code: HU

International car sticker code: H

International aircraft identification prefix: HA-

Government type: Parliamentary democracy

Capital: Budapest

Administrative divisions: 19 counties (megyék, singular - megye), 20 urban counties* (singular - megyei város), and 1 capital city** (fõváros); Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Békéscsaba*, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Budapest**, Csongrád, Debrecen*, Dunaújváros*, Eger*, Fejér, Győr*, Gyõr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Hódmezõvásárhely*, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komárom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nógrád, Nyíregyháza*, Pécs*, Pest, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Szeged*, Székesfehérvár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabánya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Veszprém*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*

Established: 896 A.D. (arrival of hungarian tribes in the Carpathian Basin)

Independence: 1001 (unification by King Stephen I)

Official National holiday: Saint Stephen's Day, 20 August (Consitution Day, also commemorates the coronation of King Stephen I in 1000 AD)

Some Paid National Holidays:

Revolution Day 1848, 15 March (Commemorates the beginning of anti-Habsburg independence struggle and patriotic war in 1848-1849)

Easter (Religious date, but practically just a resting day, with folk-culture celebrations and spraying girls with perfume)

Labour Day, 1 May (Celebrates workers' rights and organized labour movement)

Pentecost (Religious date, but practically just a resting day, with folk-culture celebrations)

Revolution Day 1956, 23 October (Commemorates the beginning of the hungarian anti-communist revolution in late 1956)

All Saints Day (Commemorates the death, traditional cemetery visit time for hungarian people)

Christmas Days, 25-26 December (Christmas Eve will also be paid holiday by 2006)

New Year's Day (Resting day, because people get drunk during the New Year's Eve celebrations)

Constitution: 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight; 1997 amendment streamlined the judicial system

Legal system: rule of law based on Western model

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal. People serving prison terms cannot vote or be elected.

Religion: There is no state state-sponsored religion in Hungary and the constitution also bans establishing one.

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ferenc Mádl (since 6 June 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, MSZP, in coalition with SZDSZ (29 September 2004-)
cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president
elections: President elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held in 2000 (next to be held in 2005); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Országgyűles (386 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 April and 21 April 2002 (next to be held NA April 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote required for parliamentary representation in the first round) - Fidesz/MDF 48.70%, MSzP 46.11%, SzDSz 4.92%, other 0.27%; seats by party - Fidesz 164, MSzP 178, MDF 24, SzDSz 20. See official election site

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms

Political parties and leaders: (the first ones in order of popular votes in the elections 2002)
Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP (István Hiller, chairman); Hungarian Civic Party or FIDESZ (Viktor Orbán, chairman); Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF (Ibolya Dávid, chairman) which is in the process of falling apart as of November 2004 and the Alliance of Free Democrats or SZDSZ (Gábor Kuncze, chairman)

Political parties currently not represented in the Parliament: Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP (Zsolt Semjén, president); Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP (Erzsébet Pusztai, chairman); Hungarian Justice and Life Party or MIÉP (István Csurka, chairman); Hungarian Workers' Party or Munkáspárt (Gyula Thürmer, chairman); Independent Smallholders or FKGP (József Torgyán, president) that fell into pieces around 2001-2002.

Member of the international organizations: ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by May 1, 2004), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green. The hungarian coat of arms is often placed in the middle of the flag.

See also : Hungary