Péter Tölgyessy (born 15 September 1957) is a Hungarian lawyer, political scientist,Életrajz az MTA PTI honlapján and politician.Tölgyessy Péter országgyűlési adatlapja In the time of the political transition in 1989, he was one of the representatives of the Alliance of Free Democrats in the Opposition and the National Round Table Talks. He was the president of SZDSZ between 1991 and 1992, the party's first fraction leader and the between 1990 and January 1991. He was a member of the National Assembly between 1990 and 2006.

During the Orbán era he was one of the most significant political thinkers in the independent public sphere in Hungary.Tölgyessy Péter. In MTI Ki kicsoda 2009. Főszerk. Hermann Péter. Budapest: Magyar Távirati Iroda Zrt. 2008. 1123. o.Tölgyessy Péter elemzései a Komment.hu-n

Early life Tölgyessy was born on 15 September 1957 in Esztergom.

He attended the Sándor Petőfi Elementary School in Esztergom and graduated from the József Károly Hell Vocational High School in 1975. After completing his military service, he began his university studies at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at Eötvös Loránd University,„ELTE Sikerek” – Tölgyessy Péter www.elte.hu. Retrieved on 27 April 2026. where he earned his doctorate in law in 1981. After graduating, he was hired as a research fellow at the Institute of Law and Political Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His researchPOLITIKA MINDENEKELŐTT Retrieved 27 April 2026. was focused on interest groups and public law.

Career In 1987, he contributed to the compilation of the collected essays titled Turning Point and Reform.Fordulat és reform Retrieved 27 April 2026. Subsequently, he participated in drafting the platform of the newly formed Alliance of Free Democrats, serving as the author or co-author of the sections on constitutional law and political transition. In 1989, he joined the party and was an active participant in various roundtable negotiations. In these, he served as the head of the subcommittee on constitutional matters and electorial law. At his initiative, the mixed electorial system (i.e., one combining list-based and individual elements) was introduced. Since his party and Fidesz did not sign the final document of the national roundtable talks, he was one of the initiators of the signature drive aimed at calling the so called "four-yes" referendum.35 évvel ezelőtt 6001 emberen múlt, hogy ne vegyen egészen más irányt a magyarországi rendszerváltás Four-yes referrendum. Retrieved 27 April 2026. He served as the party's acting chairman between 1989 and 1990, as well as between 1992 and 1994. He also served on the National Council starting in 1989. In 1991, he was elected as president of SZDSZ, a position held until 1992; during his one-year presidency, conflicts between the various factions within the party intensified, and at the 1992 party convention, was elected party president. In 1996, he left the party due to the policies of the Horn Government.

In the 1990 parliamentary elections following the change of regime, he was elected to the National Assembly from his party's list for Komárom-Esztergom County. He was subsequently elected as the parliamentary group leader. He held his position until October 1990, when he was replaced by . He was a member of the Rules of Procedure Committee, as well as the Constitutional, Legislative, and Judicial Affairs Committee (the latter until 1992). In the 1994 parliamentary elections, he won a seat in the National Assembly from SZDSZ's national list. He was a member of the Audit Committee. After leaving his party, he continued his work as an independent representative; at the time, due to the Rules of Procedure in effect at the time, he also had to relinquish his committee seat. In the 1998"Dr. Tölgyessy Péter" www.valasztas.hu. Retrieved 27 April 2026. and 2002 parliamentary elections,"Tölgyessy Péter" www.valasztas.hu. Retrieved 27 April 2026. he won a seat on the Fidesz national list (he was not a member of the party). He served as a member of the Audit Committee. He did not run in the 2006 parliamentary elections, at which point he retired from active politics. His parliamentary career became notable, among other things, for the fact that he never once spoke in the National Assembly since 1993; instead, he expressed his views on public affairs in opinion pieces and interviews.

Following his political career, he became a research fellow at the Institute of Political Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2007. There, he is a researcher in the Department of Democracy and Political Theory. His research focuses on the crisis of the Hungarian model and the challenges facing the restored constitutional order since the transition to democracy. In addition, he is a visiting lecturerTölgyessy Péter | Mark My Professor Teacher Profile. Retrieved 27 April 2026."Dr. Tölgyessy Péter" ajk.elte.hu. Retrieved 27 April 2026. at the Institute of Political Science at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Eötvös Loránd University. For several years, he also hosted a program on Magyar Rádió as part of Kossuth Rádió's . His program ended in 2010. In 2009, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order Merit of the Republic of Hungary in recognition of his activities during the transition to democracy.Tölgyessy Péter visszatekintése a rendszerváltásra 1. rész and 2. rész – Hír TV-video, 12 May 2008.

Major publications Business Interest Groups in Hungary (Gazdasági érdekképviseletek Magyarországon); MSZMP KB TTI, Bp., 1988 (Műhelytanulmányok MSZMP KB Társadalomtudományi Intézete) A Balance of Discontent: Selected Writings (Elégedetlenségek egyensúlya. Válogatott írások; Helikon, Bp., 1999 (Helikon universitas. Politológia) <li>Overburdened Democracy: Our Constitutional and Governmental Framework (Túlterhelt demokrácia: alkotmányos és kormányzati alapszerkezetünk) (co-author, 2006) The Intellectuals and the Transition to Democracy (Értelmiség és a rendszerváltás) (2008) Restitution of constitutionalism in Hungary (2009) Commentary on the Constitution, Volumes I–II (Az Alkotmány kommentárja I-II.) (co-author, 2010) Fidesz and a Possible New Direction for Hungarian Politics (A Fidesz és a magyar politika lehetséges új iránya) (2012) The Fundamental Law Under Scrutiny: A Collection of Interviews on Hungary’s New Constitution. László Sólyom, László Trócsányi, , , , Herbert Küpper, , Péter Tölgyessy (Mérlegen az alaptörvény. Interjúkötet hazánk új alkotmányáról. Sólyom László, Trócsányi László, Jakab András, Tordai Csaba, Kukorelli István, Herbert Küpper, Patyi András, Tölgyessy Péter;); szerk. Molnár Benedek, Németh Márton, Tóth Péter; HVG ORAC–Stádium Intézet, Bp., 2013Van alkotmányos kiút a válságból – Interjú Tölgyessy Péterrel – I. rész Retrieved 27 April 2026. Nature of the Orbán Regime, Volumes I–V(Az Orbán-rendszer természete I-V.) (2013) A sense of immovability forged in times of crisis (Válság idején teremtett mozdíthatatlanság) (2014)Tölgyessy Péter. Válogatott bibliográfia; összeáll. Bokrosné Stramszky Piroska, Szabóné Lenkefi Ildikó; II. Rákóczi Ferenc Megyei Könyvtár, Miskolc, 1999

Awards Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2009)

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