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.
Contents
- Hungarian State (1849)
- Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (1867–1918)
- First Hungarian Republic (1918–1919)
- Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)
- First Hungarian Republic (1919)
- Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)
- Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)
- Second Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)
- Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)
- Hungarian Republic / Hungary (from 1989)
- Timeline of Hungarian Heads of State
- See also
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 (1802–1894) |
14 April 1849 | 11 August 1849 | 119 days | Opposition Party | Governor-President Also Prime Minister until 2 May 1849 |
|
— | 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 (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 (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 (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 (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 | Acting Head of State Also Prime Minister |
|
— | 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 (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 | 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 (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 |
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 (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) | 25 October 1956 | 14 April 1967 | 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 |
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 (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 (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 | |||||
28 March 1985 | 22 May 1988 | General Secretary | ||||||
4 | Károly Grósz (1930–1996) |
22 May 1988 | 26 June 1989 | 1 year, 35 days | Also Prime Minister (1987–1988) | |||
5 | 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 (born 1933) |
23 October 1989 | 2 May 1990 | 191 days | MSZP | Provisional President of the Republic | — | |
— | 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 (1931–2011) |
4 August 2000 | 4 August 2005 | 5 years | Independent | 3 (2000) | ||
3 | László Sólyom (1942–2023) |
5 August 2005 | 5 August 2010 | 5 years | 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 | 9 May 2017 | 10 years | President of the Republic | 6 (2012) | ||
10 May 2017 | 10 May 2022 | 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 | 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