List of heads of state of Hungary facts for kids

This article tells you about the leaders of Hungary who have been the "head of state" since 1849. The head of state is like the main representative of a country. They are often a president or a monarch.

Hungary first declared its independence in 1849 during a big uprising called the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Since then, Hungary has had many different types of governments and leaders.

The current head of state of Hungary is President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok. He used to be the top judge of the Constitutional Court. He was chosen on February 26, 2024, and started his job on March 5, 2024.

If you want to learn about even earlier rulers, you can look at the Grand Prince of the Hungarians, King of Hungary, and List of Hungarian monarchs articles.

Hungarian State (1849)

After the 1848 revolution, Hungary tried to become an independent state. During this short time, they had a Governor-President. Parties       Opposition Party

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
1	Lajos Kossuth	Lajos Kossuth (1802–1894)	14 April 1849	11 August 1849	119 days	Opposition Party	Governor-President Also Prime Minister until 2 May 1849
—	Artúr Görgei	Artúr Görgei (1818–1916)	11 August 1849	13 August 1849	2 days	Revolutionary Army	Dictator Acting civil and military authority

After the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 ended, Hungary became part of the Austrian Empire again. Later, in 1867, it joined with Austria to form the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (1867–1918)

Further information: List of Hungarian monarchs

First Hungarian Republic (1918–1919)

After World War I, Hungary became a republic for the first time. This meant it was led by a president, not a king. Parties       F48P–Károlyi

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
1	Mihály Károlyi	Mihály Károlyi (1875–1955)	16 November 1918	11 January 1919	125 days	F48P–Károlyi	Provisional President of the Republic Also Prime Minister
			11 January 1919	21 March 1919			President of the Republic

Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)

This was a very short period when Hungary had a communist government. Parties       MSZP/SZKMMP

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
1	Sándor Garbai	Sándor Garbai (1879–1947)	21 March 1919	1 August 1919	133 days	MSZP/SZKMMP	Chairman of the Central Executive Council

First Hungarian Republic (1919)

After the Soviet Republic, Hungary briefly returned to a republic. Parties       MSZDP

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
—	Gyula Peidl	Gyula Peidl (1873–1943)	1 August 1919	6 August 1919	5 days	MSZDP	Prime Minister Acting Head of State

Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)

More changes happened in Hungary's government during this time. Parties       KNEP       Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
1	Archduke Joseph August	Archduke Joseph August (1872–1962)	7 August 1919	23 August 1919	16 days	Independent (Regent)	Regent of Hungary
—	István Friedrich	István Friedrich (1883–1951)	23 August 1919	24 November 1919	93 days	KNP → KNEP	Acting Head of State Also Prime Minister
—	Károly Huszár	Károly Huszár (1882–1941)	24 November 1919	1 March 1920	98 days	KNEP

Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)

Even though Hungary was a kingdom, it didn't have a king for most of this period. Instead, it had a "Regent" who ruled in the king's place.       Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
2		Miklós Horthy (1868–1957)	1 March 1920	15 October 1944	24 years, 228 days	Independent	Regent of Hungary

Government of National Unity (1944–1945)

During World War II, Hungary had a government that was strongly influenced by Germany. Parties       NYKP

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
1		Ferenc Szálasi (1897–1946)	4 November 1944	7 May 1945	184 days	NYKP	Leader of the Nation De facto, appointed by the Germans Also Prime Minister

Soviet-backed provisional governments (1944–1946)

Towards the end of World War II, new governments formed in Hungary with support from the Soviet Union. Parties       Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
—	Béla Miklós	Béla Miklós (1890–1948)	21 December 1944	25 January 1945	35 days	Independent	Head of State Also Prime Minister In opposition
—	High National Council	High National Council	26 January 1945	1 February 1946	1 year, 6 days	Multi-party	Collective Head of State In opposition to 28 March 1945

Second Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)

After World War II, Hungary became a republic again. Parties       FKGP       MDP

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
1	Zoltán Tildy	Zoltán Tildy (1889–1961)	1 February 1946	3 August 1948	2 years, 184 days	FKGP	President of the Republic
2	Árpád Szakasits	Árpád Szakasits (1888–1965)	3 August 1948	23 August 1949	1 year, 20 days	MDP

Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)

During this time, Hungary was a communist state. The main leader was often the head of the ruling party.

Chairman of the Presidential Council

The Presidential Council was a group of people who acted as the head of state. Parties       MDP–MSZMP       Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title
			Started	Ended	How long
1	Árpád Szakasits	Árpád Szakasits (1888–1965)	23 August 1949	26 April 1950	246 days	MDP	Chairman of the Presidential Council
2	Sándor Rónai	Sándor Rónai (1892–1965)	26 April 1950	14 August 1952	2 years, 110 days
3	István Dobi	István Dobi (1898–1968)	14 August 1952	25 October 1956	14 years, 243 days
(3)			25 October 1956	14 April 1967		MSZMP
4	Pál Losonczi	Pál Losonczi (1919–2005)	14 April 1967	25 June 1987	20 years, 72 days
5	Károly Németh	Károly Németh (1922–2008)	25 June 1987	29 June 1988	1 year, 4 days
6	Brunó Ferenc Straub	Brunó Ferenc Straub (1914–1996)	29 June 1988	23 October 1989	1 year, 116 days	Independent

Leader of the Hungarian Working People's Party / Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party

In a communist system, the leader of the main political party often holds the most power. Parties       MDP–MSZMP

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title	Notes
			Started	Ended	How long
1	Mátyás Rákosi	Mátyás Rákosi (1892–1971)	12 June 1948	28 June 1953	8 years, 36 days	MDP	General Secretary	Also Prime Minister (1952–1953)
			28 June 1953	18 July 1956			First Secretary
2	Ernő Gerő	Ernő Gerő (1898–1980)	18 July 1956	25 October 1956	99 days
3	János Kádár	János Kádár (1912–1989)	25 October 1956	31 October 1956	31 years, 210 days			Also Prime Minister (1956–1958 and 1961–1965)
(3)			31 October 1956	28 March 1985		MSZMP
			28 March 1985	22 May 1988			General Secretary
4	Károly Grósz	Károly Grósz (1930–1996)	22 May 1988	26 June 1989	1 year, 35 days			Also Prime Minister (1987–1988)
5	Rezső Nyers	Rezső Nyers (1923–2018)	26 June 1989	7 October 1989	103 days		Party President

Hungarian Republic / Hungary (from 1989)

Since 1989, Hungary has been a democratic republic. The head of state is the President of the Republic, chosen by the people or their representatives. Parties       MSZP       SZDSZ       Fidesz       Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political party	Job Title	Term (Election)
			Started	Ended	How long
—	Mátyás Szűrös	Mátyás Szűrös (born 1933)	23 October 1989	2 May 1990	191 days	MSZP	Provisional President of the Republic	—
—	Árpád Göncz	Árpád Göncz (1922–2015)	2 May 1990	2 August 1990	10 years, 93 days	SZDSZ	Acting President of the Republic	—
1			3 August 1990	2 August 1995			President of the Republic	1 (1990)
			3 August 1995	3 August 2000				2 (1995)
2	Ferenc Mádl	Ferenc Mádl (1931–2011)	4 August 2000	4 August 2005	5 years	Independent		3 (2000)
3	László Sólyom	László Sólyom (1942–2023)	5 August 2005	5 August 2010	5 years			4 (2005)
4	Pál Schmitt	Pál Schmitt (born 1942)	6 August 2010	2 April 2012 (resigned)	1 year, 240 days	Fidesz		5 (2010)
—	László Kövér	László Kövér (born 1959)	2 April 2012	10 May 2012	38 days		Acting President of the Republic	—
5	János Áder	János Áder (born 1959)	10 May 2012	9 May 2017	10 years		President of the Republic	6 (2012)
			10 May 2017	10 May 2022				7 (2017)
6	Katalin Novák	Katalin Novák (born 1977)	10 May 2022	26 February 2024 (resigned)	1 year, 292 days			8 (2022)
—	László Kövér	László Kövér (born 1959)	26 February 2024	5 March 2024	8 days		Acting President of the Republic	—
7	Tamás Sulyok	Tamás Sulyok (born 1956)	5 March 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 143 days	Independent	President of the Republic	9 (2024)

Timeline of Hungarian Heads of State

This timeline shows when each head of state served.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de Hungría para niños

• List of Hungarian monarchs
• List of prime ministers of Hungary