Hungary and the United States are NATO allies and security partners. The U.S. Embassy in Hungary is located in Budapest, and the Hungarian Embassy in the U.S. is located in Washington, D.C.
After first recognizing the Hungarian state in 1848, the United States established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1921, following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary after World War I. Relations were severed during World War II and were reestablished in 1945. Following the collapse of the Hungarian People's Republic in 1989, the United States supported Hungary's transition to democracy and a market economy. Hungary acceded to NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Since then, the two countries have cooperated on security, trade, and transatlantic issues.
History
The Hungarian State produced by the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was recognised by the United States. Hungarian revolutionary Lajos Kossuth was brought to the United States by an American warship in 1851. An American diplomatic post to the Kingdom of Hungary was established in 1869, and upgraded to a consulate in 1904.
After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, President Warren G. Harding called for the United States Congress to create a peace treaty between the United States and Hungary on 2 July 1921. Negotiations started in Budapest on 9 July 1921, and there were no difficulties as there was no significant conflict between the two sides during the war nor were any Americans held as prisoners of war. The U.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty was signed on 29 August. The United States' legation was established in Budapest on 26 December 1921. Hungary opened its first consulates in New York City, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Cleveland in 1922. László Széchenyi, the first Hungarian minister to the United States, presented his credentials on 11 January 1922, and served until 31 March 1933.
In the 1930s Standard Oil of New Jersey started exploring for oil in Hungary. The Hungarian-American Oil Corporation (MAORT) started oil production in 1937. This rose from 1.3 million tons of oil in 1937, to 37.3 million tons in 1938, and 141.8 million tons in 1939.
The United States represented the British after the United Kingdom and Hungary ended diplomatic relations on 7 April 1941. The British ultimatum to Hungary requesting that it end its participation in the war against the Soviet Union was delivered by Americans on 29 November. The United States was opposed to the United Kingdom declaring war on Hungary as it was believed that it would strengthen the pro-war faction in Hungary. The ultimatum expired and the British declared war on 7 December.
Germany's declaration of war against the United States resulted in László Bárdossy ending diplomatic relations with the United States on 11 December. Bárdossy was opposed to war with the United States as he felt it would be similar to Panama and Costa Rica declarations of war against Japan, as neither side would be greatly involved in the conflict against the subject of the declaration. However, Bárdossy informed Herbert Pell on 13 December that a state of war existed between the United States and Hungary.
U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull opposed declaring war on Hungary as he viewed it as a puppet state of Germany. On 2 June 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested the United States Congress to declare war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
Tibor Eckhardt left Hungary on 7 March 1941, and travelled to the United States. Germany's Federal Foreign Office was suspicious of Eckhardt, but Horthy denied sending him on a mission. Eckhardt made contact with the United States Department of State as the leader of an independent Hungary movement. Eckhardt was stripped of his Hungarian citizenship in October. His independent Hungary movement disbanded in July 1942.
Trade In 2024, the United States' exported $2.64 billion to Hungary and Hungary exported $10.9 billion to the United States.
Public opinion According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 38% of Hungarians approve of U.S. leadership, with 20% disapproving and 42% uncertain, a decrease from 53% approval in 2011.U.S. Global Leadership Project Report - 2012 Gallup In a 2018 Eurobarometer poll, 68% of Hungarians viewed the United States favorably. According to a 2026 Pew Research Center survey, 58% of Hungarians had a favorable view of the United States, while 38% had a negative view.
High-level mutual visits
Guest Host Place of visit Date of visit Prime Minister Ferenc Nagy President Harry S. TrumanWashington, D.C., New York City Prime Minister Károly Grósz President Ronald ReaganWashington, D.C. President George H. W. Bush Prime Minister Miklós NémethBudapest Acting President Árpád Göncz President George H. W. BushWashington, D.C. Prime Minister József Antall President Árpád Göncz Prime Minister József Antall President Árpád Göncz President Bill Clinton President Bill Clinton President Árpád Göncz Prime Minister Gyula HornBudapest Prime Minister Gyula Horn President Bill ClintonWashington, D.C. President Bill Clinton President Árpád Göncz Prime Minister Gyula HornTaszár President Árpád Göncz President Bill ClintonWashington, D.C. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán President Árpád GönczWashington, D.C., Chicago Prime Minister Viktor Orbán President George W. BushWashington, D.C. Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány President George W. Bush President László Sólyom Prime Minister Ferenc GyurcsányBudapest Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai President Barack ObamaWashington, D.C. Prime Minister Viktor OrbánChicago President Donald TrumpMar-a-LagoJuly 11,2024Washington, D.C.
On April 7–8 2026, Vice President JD Vance visited Hungary and held bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election.
Resident diplomatic missions of Hungary in the United States EmbassyEmbassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C. (1): Washington, D.C. Consulate GeneralConsulates of Hungary in the United States (3): Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City Vice-ConsulatesVice-Consulate of Hungary in Santa Clara (3): Houston, Miami, Santa Clara Honorary Consulate General (1): Atlanta Consulate Honorary (15): Atlanta, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Daytona Beach, Denver, Derry, Hamden, Mayagüez, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, Sarasota, and Seattle.
of the United States in Hungary EmbassyEmbassy of the United States in Budapest (1): Budapest
Sister-Twinning cities
See also Hungarian Americans Hungarian Ambassador to the United States United States Ambassador to Hungary Foreign relations of the United States Foreign relations of Hungary United States–European Union relations
References
Works cited Books
Web
Further reading
Bártfai, Imre, "Hungary & the U.S.: Will there be a New Direction for American Diplomacy?", IndraStra Global (2017) 3, ISSN 2381-3652 online Borhi, László. "The United States and Hungary, 1956–1990." in Human Rights and Political Dissent in Central Europe (Routledge, 2021) pp. 187–201. Frank, Tibor. Ethnicity, Propaganda, Myth-Making: Studies in Hungarian Connections to Britain and America, 1848–1945 (Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1999). Frank, Tibor. "Friend or foe? The changing image of Hungary in the United-States." Hungarian Quarterly 38.148 (1997): 116-124. Frank, Tibor. Double Exile: Migration of Jewish-Hungarian Professionals Through Germany to the United States, 1919-1945 (2009) Frank, Tibor. Genius in Exile: Professional Immigration from Interwar Hungary to the United States (2006). Glant, Tibor, "Ninety Years of United States-Hungarian Relations," Eger Journal of American Studies, 13 (2012), 163–83. Glant, Tibor, "The Myth and History of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points in Hungary," Eger Journal of American Studies (Eger), 12 (2010), 301–22. Glant, Tibor, "Herbert Hoover and Hungary, 1918-1923" Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies 8#2 (2002), pp. 95–109 online Horcicka, Václav, "Austria-Hungary, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, and the United States' Entrance into the First World War," International History Review (Burnaby), 34 (June 2012), 245–69. Kurucz, Milan. "Hungary-United States Relations under Obama and Trump Administration." Politické vedy 23.2 (2020): 98-113. Lévai, Csaba, "Henry Clay and Lajos Kossuth's Visit in the United States, 1851–1852," Eger Journal of American Studies (Eger), 13 (2012), pp 219–41. Pastor, Peter. Hungary between Wilson and Lenin: The Hungarian Revolution of 1918-1919 and the Big Three (1976) Peterecz, Zoltán. "Royall Tyler in Hungary: An American of the League of Nations and Hungarian Reconstruction Efforts, 1924–1938." Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies 27.1 (2021) online. Peterecz, Zoltán, "'A Certain Amount of Tactful Undermining': Herbert C. Pell and Hungary in 1941," The Hungarian Quarterly (Budapest), 52 (Spring–Summer 2011), pp 124–37. Peterecz, Zoltán, "American Foreign Policy and American Financial Controllers in Europe in the 1920s," Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (Debrecen), 18 (2012), pp 457–85. Peterecz, Zoltán, "Money Has No Smell: Anti-Semitism in Hungary and the Anglo-Saxon World, and the Launching of the International Reconstruction Loan for Hungary in 1924," Eger Journal of American Studies (Eger), 13 (2012), pp 273–90. Peterecz, Zoltán, "The Fight for a Yankee over Here: Attempts to Secure an American for an Official League of Nations Post in the Postwar Central European Financial Reconstruction Era of the 1920s," Eger Journal of American Studies (Eger), 12 (2010), pp 465–88. Puskas, Julianna. Ties That Bind, Ties That Divide. One Hundred Years of Hungarian Experience in the United States (Holmes and Meier, 2000), 465 pp. Romsics, Ignác, ed. Twentieth Century Hungary and the Great Powers (Boulder: East European Monographs, 1996).
Várdy, Steven Béla, and Thomas Szendrey. "Hungarian Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 373–386. Online Várdy, Steven Béla and Agnes Huszar Vardy, eds. Hungarian Americans in the Current of History (2010), essays by scholars; online review Vida, István Kornél. Hungarian Émigrés in the American Civil War: A History and Biographical Dictionary (McFarland, 2012) 256 pp. Zsolt, Péter, Tamás Tóth, and Márton Demeter. "We are the ones who matter! Pro and anti-Trumpists’ attitudes in Hungary." Journal of Contemporary European Studies (2021): 1-19 online. Melissa Ford’s "Hungary & Texas: A Comparative Perspective https://danubeinstitute.hu/en/research/hungary-texas-a-comparative-perspective
Cold War 1945-1989
Bischof, Günter. "United States Responses to the Soviet Suppression of Rebellions in the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia." Diplomacy & Statecraft 22.1 (2011): 61-80. Borhi, László. "Rollback, Liberation, Containment, or Inaction? U.S. Policy and Eastern Europe in the 1950s." Journal of Cold War Studies 1.3 (1999): 67-110. online Borhi, László. "From the Prehistory of the Cold War (Hungary and the United States 1944–49)." Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 35.1/4 (1989): 217-249. online Borhi, László. "‘We Hungarian communists are realists’: János Kádár's foreign policy in the light of Hungarian–US relations, 1957–67." Cold War History 4.2 (2004): 1-32. Borhi, László. "In the Power Arena: U.S.-Hungarian Relations, 1942–1989," The Hungarian Quarterly (Budapest), 51 (Summer 2010), pp 67–81. Borhi, László. "Dealing with dictatorship: The US and Hungary during the early kádár years." Hungarian Studies 27.1 (2013): 15-66. online Borhi, László. Hungary in the Cold War, 1945-1956: Between the United States and the Soviet Union (2004) online Gati, Charles. Hungary and the Soviet Bloc (Duke University Press, 1986). Glant, Tibor. Remember Hungary 1956: Essays on the Hungarian Revolution and Wars of Independence in American Memory (2007) online review