The prime minister of Hungary () is the head of government of Hungary and the leader of the Hungarian cabinet.
Background The office of prime minister was formally established during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, under the April Laws sanctioned by King Ferdinand V. The first prime minister was Lajos Batthyány, who took office on 17 March 1848, marking the beginning of constitutional and parliamentary government in Hungary.Hungarian Revolution of 1848”. Hungarian Historical Review.
Following the outbreak of the revolution, growing tensions between the Hungarian Diet and the Austrian imperial court led to Batthyány's resignation in September 1848. On 3 October 1848, Emperor Ferdinand appointed Count Ádám Récsey as prime minister, though this appointment was made without the approval of the Diet and was therefore unconstitutional under the April Laws.Deák, István. The Lawful Revolution: Louis Kossuth and the Hungarians, 1848–1849. Columbia University Press, 1979.
Récsey attempted to dissolve the Hungarian Diet and reassert royal authority, but his actions were rejected by Hungarian leaders and the revolutionary government led by Lajos Kossuth. His term lasted only a few days. After Emperor Ferdinand abdicated on 7 October 1848 in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph I, Récsey was forced to resign and was briefly arrested.Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon – “Récsey Ádám.”
The office of prime minister was restored following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which created the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen within the Dual Monarchy. Since then, the prime minister has remained the head of government, responsible for directing the executive branch and leading the cabinet.“Dual Monarchy and the Hungarian Government Structure”. Hungarian National Archives.
After the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Hungary experienced several regime changes, including the First Hungarian Republic, the Hungarian Soviet Republic, and the second Kingdom of Hungary without a reigning monarch. The prime minister's role continued throughout these periods, though its powers varied depending on the form of government.Romsics, Ignác. Hungary in the Twentieth Century. Corvina, 1999.
Following World War II, Hungary became a People's Republic under Soviet influence, during which the office of prime minister continued in name but held limited power under the Communist Party.“People’s Republic of Hungary (1949–1989)”. Encyclopædia Britannica. After the fall of communism in 1989, Hungary re-established itself as a democratic parliamentary republic, and the prime minister once again became the head of a freely elected government accountable to the National Assembly.“Hungary’s Democratic Transition”. European Journal of Political Science, 1990.
The current prime minister is Péter Magyar, who has served since 9 May 2026.
Revolutionary Hungary (1848–1849)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary 1 Lajos Batthyány 17 March 1848 2 October 1848 Opposition Party Last Diet Batthyány 1848 President of the Committee of National Defence 2 Lajos Kossuth 2 October 1848 2 May 1849 Opposition Party — Committee of National Defence Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary — Ádám Récsey 3 October 1848 7 October 1848 Imperial Austrian Army — Not formed 3 Bertalan Szemere 2 May 1849 11 August 1849 Opposition Party — Szemere
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.
Kingdom of Hungary (1867–1918)
Parties
/48AP
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary 4 Gyula Andrássy 17 February 1867 14 November 1871 Deák Party 1865 Andrássy 1869 5 Menyhért Lónyay 14 November 1871 4 December 1872 Deák Party — Lónyay 1872 6 József Szlávy 4 December 1872 21 March 1874 Deák Party — Szlávy 7 István Bittó 21 March 1874 2 March 1875 Deák Party — Bittó 8 Béla Wenckheim 2 March 1875 20 October 1875 Liberal Party — Wenckheim 9 Kálmán Tisza 20 October 1875 13 March 1890 Liberal Party 1875 K. Tisza 1878 1881 1884 1887 10 Gyula Szapáry 13 March 1890 17 November 1892 Liberal Party — Szapáry 1892 11 Sándor Wekerle 17 November 1892 14 January 1895 Liberal Party — Wekerle I 12 Dezső Bánffy 14 January 1895 26 February 1899 Liberal Party — Bánffy 1896 13 Kálmán Széll 26 February 1899 27 June 1903 Liberal Party — Széll 1901 14 Károly Khuen-Héderváry 27 June 1903 3 November 1903 Liberal Party — Khuen-Héderváry I 15 István Tisza 3 November 1903 18 June 1905 Liberal Party — I. Tisza I 16 Géza Fejérváry 18 June 1905 8 April 1906 Independent 1905 Fejérváry (11) Sándor Wekerle 8 April 1906 17 January 1910 Constitution Party 1906 Wekerle II (14) Károly Khuen-Héderváry 17 January 1910 22 April 1912 National Party of Work 1910 Khuen-Héderváry II 17 László Lukács 22 April 1912 10 June 1913 National Party of Work — Lukács (15) István Tisza 10 June 1913 15 June 1917 National Party of Work — I. Tisza II 18 Móric Esterházy 15 June 1917 20 August 1917 Independent — Esterházy (11) Sándor Wekerle 20 August 1917 30 October 1918 Constitution PartyConstitution Party of 48 — Wekerle III 19 János Hadik 30 October 1918 31 October 1918 National Constitution Party— Hadik 20 Mihály Károlyi 31 October 1918 16 November 1918 Party of Independence and '48 Hungarian National Council M. Károlyi
Hungarian People's Republic (1918–1919)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Hungarian People's Republic (20) Mihály Károlyi 16 November 1918 11 January 1919 Party of Independence and '48 Hungarian National Council M. Károlyi 21 Dénes Berinkey 11 January 1919 18 January 1919 Civil Radical Party Hungarian National Council Berinkey caretaker 18 January 1919 21 March 1919 Berinkey
Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Assembly Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Chairman of the Revolutionary Governing Council of the Hungarian Soviet Republic 22 Sándor Garbai 21 March 1919 1 August 1919 Hungarian Communist Party National Assembly of Soviets Central Executive Council
Counter-revolutionary governments (1919)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Counter-revolutionary Government of Hungary — Gyula Károlyi 5 May 1919 31 May 1919 Independent — Arad 31 May 1919 6 June 1919 Szeged I 6 June 1919 12 July 1919 Szeged II — Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám 12 July 1919 12 August 1919 Independent — Szeged III
Hungarian People's Republic (1919)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Hungarian People's Republic 23 Gyula Peidl 1 August 1919 6 August 1919 Social Democratic Party of Hungary — Peidl
Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Hungarian Republic 24 István Friedrich 7 August 1919 24 November 1919 IndependentChristian National PartyChristian National Union Party — Friedrich 25 Károly Huszár 24 November 1919 1 March 1920 Christian National Union Party — Huszár
Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary (25) Károly Huszár 1 March 1920 15 March 1920 Christian National Union Party — Huszár 26 Sándor Simonyi-Semadam 15 March 1920 19 July 1920 Christian National Union Party 1920 Simonyi-Semadam 27 Pál Teleki 19 July 1920 14 April 1921 Christian National Union Party— Teleki I 28 István Bethlen 14 April 1921 24 August 1931 Unity Party 1922 Bethlen 1926 1931 29 Gyula Károlyi 24 August 1931 1 October 1932 Unity Party— G. Károlyi 30 Gyula Gömbös 1 October 1932 6 October 1936 Unity Party — Gömbös 1935 31 Kálmán Darányi 6 October 1936 12 October 1936 Unity Party — Darányi caretaker 12 October 1936 14 May 1938 Darányi 32 Béla Imrédy 14 May 1938 16 February 1939 Unity Party — Imrédy (27) Pál Teleki 16 February 1939 3 April 1941 Party of Hungarian Life— Teleki II 1939 — Ferenc Keresztes-Fischer 3 April 1941 Party of Hungarian Life — Keresztes-Fischer caretaker I 33 László Bárdossy 3 April 1941 7 March 1942 Party of Hungarian Life — Bárdossy — Ferenc Keresztes-Fischer 7 March 1942 9 March 1942 Party of Hungarian Life — Keresztes-Fischer caretaker II 34 Miklós Kállay 9 March 1942 22 March 1944 Party of Hungarian Life — Kállay 35 Döme Sztójay 22 March 1944 29 August 1944 Independent — Sztójay 36 Géza Lakatos 29 August 1944 16 October 1944 Independent — Lakatos
Government of National Unity (1944–1945)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary 37 Ferenc Szálasi 16 October 1944 7 May 1945 Arrow Cross Party — Szálasi
Soviet-backed provisional governments (1944–1946) Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary 38 Béla Miklós 22 December 1944 28 March 1945 Independent 1944 Provisional Government 28 March 1945 15 November 1945 39 Zoltán Tildy 15 November 1945 1 February 1946 Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party 1945 Tildy
Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary — Mátyás Rákosi 1 February 1946 4 February 1946 Hungarian Communist Party(MKP) — Rákosi caretaker I 40 Ferenc Nagy 4 February 1946 31 May 1947 Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party — F. Nagy — Mátyás Rákosi31 May 1947 Hungarian Communist Party — Rákosi caretaker II 41 Lajos Dinnyés 31 May 1947 10 December 1948 Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party — Dinnyés 1947 42 István Dobi 10 December 1948 20 August 1949 Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party — Dobi
Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)
Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People's Republic (42) István Dobi 20 August 1949 14 August 1952 Independent 1949 Dobi 43 Mátyás Rákosi 14 August 1952 4 July 1953 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party — Rákosi 44 Imre Nagy 4 July 1953 18 April 1955 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party 1953 I. Nagy I 45 András Hegedüs 18 April 1955 24 October 1956 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party — Hegedüs (44) Imre Nagy 24 October 1956 4 November 1956 Hungarian Socialist Workers' PartyHungarian Socialist Workers' Party — I. Nagy IIMDP→MSZMP–FKGP I. Nagy III 46 János Kádár 4 November 1956 28 January 1958 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party — Kádár I 47 Ferenc Münnich 28 January 1958 13 September 1961 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party 1958 Münnich (46) János Kádár 13 September 1961 30 June 1965 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party — Kádár II 1963 48 Gyula Kállai 30 June 1965 14 April 1967 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party — Kállai 49 Jenő Fock 14 April 1967 15 May 1975 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party 1967 Fock 1971 50 György Lázár 15 May 1975 25 June 1987 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party 1975 Lázár 1980 1985 51 Károly Grósz 25 June 1987 24 November 1988 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party — Grósz 52 Miklós Németh 24 November 1988 23 October 1989 Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party — Németh
Hungary (from 1989)
Parties