List of heads of state of Hungary facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This article is about the leaders of Hungary, who are called the "heads of state." These are the most important people in charge of the country. We'll look at who held this role from 1849, when Hungary declared its independence during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, all the way up to today.

The current head of state in Hungary is President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok. He used to be the main 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, like princes and kings, you can check out the articles on Grand Prince of the Hungarians, King of Hungary, and List of Hungarian monarchs.

Leaders of the Hungarian State (1849)
Leaders of the First Hungarian Republic (1918–1919)
Leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)
Leaders of the Hungarian People's Republic (1919)
Leaders of the Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)
Leaders of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)
- Leaders of the Government of National Unity (1944–1945)
- Leaders of Soviet-backed provisional governments (1944–1946)
Leaders of the Second Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)
Leaders of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)
- Chairman of the Presidential Council
- Leaders of the Hungarian Communist Party
Leaders of the Hungarian Republic (from 1989)
Timeline of Hungarian Leaders
See also

Leaders of the Hungarian State (1849)

This section covers the first leaders after Hungary declared its independence.

Political Parties Opposition Party

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
1		Lajos Kossuth (1802–1894)	14 April 1849	11 August 1849	119 days	Opposition Party	Governor-President Also Prime Minister until 1 May 1849
—		Artúr Görgei (1818–1916)	11 August 1849	13 August 1849	2 days	Revolutionary Army	Dictator Temporary military and civilian leader

After the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 ended, the Hungarian Kingdom became part of the Austrian Empire. This lasted until 1867, when the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was formed. During this time, the Austrian Emperor was also the King of Hungary.

Leaders of the First Hungarian Republic (1918–1919)

This period saw Hungary become a republic for the first time.

Political Parties F48P–Károlyi

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
1		Mihály Károlyi (1875–1955)	16 November 1918	11 January 1919	125 days	F48P–Károlyi	Temporary President of the Republic Also Prime Minister
1		Mihály Károlyi (1875–1955)	11 January 1919	21 March 1919	125 days	F48P–Károlyi	President of the Republic

Leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)

This was a short period when Hungary was led by a communist government.

Political Parties MSZP/SZKMMP

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
1		Sándor Garbai (1879–1947)	21 March 1919	1 August 1919	133 days	MSZP/SZKMMP	Chairman of the Central Executive Council

Leaders of the Hungarian People's Republic (1919)

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

Political Parties MSZDP

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
—		Gyula Peidl (1873–1943)	1 August 1919	6 August 1919	5 days	MSZDP	Prime Minister Temporary Head of State

Leaders of the Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)

This was another short-lived republic before a new kingdom was established.

Political Parties KNEP Independent

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
1		Archduke Joseph August (1872–1962)	7 August 1919	23 August 1919	16 days	Independent (Regent)	Regent of Hungary
—		István Friedrich (1883–1951)	23 August 1919	24 November 1919	93 days	KNP → KNEP	Temporary Head of State Also Prime Minister
—		Károly Huszár (1882–1941)	24 November 1919	1 March 1920	98 days	KNEP	Temporary Head of State Also Prime Minister

Leaders of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)

During this time, Hungary was officially a kingdom, but it was led by a regent instead of a king.

Political Parties Independent

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
2		Miklós Horthy (1868–1957)	1 March 1920	15 October 1944	24 years, 228 days	Independent	Regent of Hungary

Leaders of the Government of National Unity (1944–1945)

This government was in power during the final part of World War II.

Political Parties NYKP

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
1		Ferenc Szálasi (1897–1946)	16 October 1944	28 March 1945	163 days	NYKP	Leader of the Nation Chosen by the Germans Also Prime Minister

Leaders of Soviet-backed provisional governments (1944–1946)

These were temporary governments supported by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

Political Parties Independent

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
—		Béla Miklós (1890–1948)	21 December 1944	25 January 1945	35 days	Independent	Head of State Also Prime Minister In opposition
—		High National Council	26 January 1945	1 February 1946	1 year, 6 days	Multi-party	Group Head of State In opposition to 28 March 1945

Leaders of the Second Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)

Hungary became a republic again after World War II.

Political Parties FKGP MDP

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
1		Zoltán Tildy (1889–1961)	1 February 1946	3 August 1948	2 years, 184 days	FKGP	President of the Republic
2		Árpád Szakasits (1888–1965)	3 August 1948	23 August 1949	1 year, 20 days	MDP	President of the Republic

Leaders of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)

During this time, Hungary was a communist state.

Chairman of the Presidential Council

The Presidential Council was a group of people who acted as the head of state.

Political Parties MDP–MSZMP Independent

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did
1		Árpád Szakasits (1888–1965)	23 August 1949	26 April 1950	246 days	MDP	Chairman of the Presidential Council
2		Sándor Rónai (1892–1965)	26 April 1950	14 August 1952	2 years, 110 days
3		István Dobi (1898–1968)	14 August 1952	25 October 1956	14 years, 243 days
(3)		István Dobi (1898–1968)	25 October 1956	14 April 1967	14 years, 243 days	MSZMP
4		Pál Losonczi (1919–2005)	14 April 1967	25 June 1987	20 years, 72 days
5		Károly Németh (1922–2008)	25 June 1987	29 June 1988	1 year, 4 days
6		Brunó Ferenc Straub (1914–1996)	29 June 1988	23 October 1989	1 year, 116 days	Independent

Leaders of the Hungarian Communist Party

During the communist era, the leader of the ruling party was often the most powerful person, even if they weren't officially the head of state.

Political Parties MDP–MSZMP

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did	Notes
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did	Notes
1		Mátyás Rákosi (1892–1971)	12 June 1948	28 June 1953	8 years, 36 days	MDP	General Secretary	Also Prime Minister (1952–1953)
1		Mátyás Rákosi (1892–1971)	28 June 1953	18 July 1956	8 years, 36 days		First Secretary	Also Prime Minister (1952–1953)
2		Ernő Gerő (1898–1980)	18 July 1956	25 October 1956	99 days
3		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
(3)			28 March 1985	22 May 1988			General Secretary
4		Károly Grósz (1930–1996)	22 May 1988	26 June 1989	1 year, 35 days		General Secretary	Also Prime Minister (1987–1988)
5		Rezső Nyers (1923–2018)	26 June 1989	7 October 1989	103 days		Party President

Leaders of the Hungarian Republic (from 1989)

Since 1989, Hungary has been a democratic republic.

Political Parties MSZP SZDSZ Fidesz Independent

Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	What they did	Term (Election)
Number	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Started	Ended	How long	Political Party	What they did	Term (Election)
—		Mátyás Szűrös (born 1933)	23 October 1989	2 May 1990	191 days	MSZP	Temporary President of the Republic	—
—		Árpád Göncz (1922–2015)	2 May 1990	3 August 1990	10 years, 93 days	SZDSZ	Acting President of the Republic	—
1			3 August 1990	3 August 1995			President of the Republic	1 (1990)
1			3 August 1995	3 August 2000				2 (1995)
2		Ferenc Mádl (1931–2011)	4 August 2000	4 August 2005	5 years, 0 days	Independent		3 (2000)
3		László Sólyom (1942–2023)	5 August 2005	5 August 2010	5 years, 0 days	Independent		4 (2005)
4		Pál Schmitt (born 1942)	6 August 2010	2 April 2012 (resigned)	1 year, 240 days	Fidesz		5 (2010)
—		László Kövér (born 1959)	2 April 2012	10 May 2012	38 days		Acting President of the Republic	—
5		János Áder (born 1959)	10 May 2012	10 May 2017	10 years, 0 days		President of the Republic	6 (2012)
5		János Áder (born 1959)	10 May 2017	10 May 2022	10 years, 0 days			7 (2017)
6		Katalin Novák (born 1977)	10 May 2022	26 February 2024 (resigned)	1 year, 292 days			8 (2022)
—		László Kövér (born 1959)	26 February 2024	5 March 2024	8 days		Acting President of the Republic	—
7		Tamás Sulyok (born 1956)	5 March 2024	Still in office	1 year, 122 days	Independent	President of the Republic	9 (2024)