Politics of Hungary

Hungary
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Hungary
Constitution 1949 Constitution
Executive President János Áder Government Current cabinet Prime Minister (list) Viktor Orbán
Parliament National Assembly Speaker: László Kövér Political parties Fidesz Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) Jobbik Politics Can Be Different (LMP) Dialogue for Hungary (PM) Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) Democratic Coalition (DK)
Recent elections Parliamentary: 2006 2010 2014 Presidential: 2005 2010 2012
Administrative divisions Counties Regions Subregions
Foreign relations
Other countries Atlas Politics portal
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Politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The Prime Minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the President is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position.

Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The party system since the last elections is dominated by the conservative Fidesz. The two larger oppositions are Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Jobbik, there are also opposition parties with no formal faction but representation in parliament (e. g. Politics Can Be Different) The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

The Republic of Hungary is an independent, democratic and constitutional state, which has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Since the constitutional amendment of 23 October 1989, Hungary is a parliamentary republic. Legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly that consists of 386 members. Members of the National Assembly are elected for four years.

Executive branch

The President of the Republic, elected by the National Assembly every fifth years, has a largely ceremonial role, but he is nominally the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and his powers include the nomination of the Prime Minister who is to be elected by a majority of the votes of the Members of Parliament, based on the recommendation made by the President of the Republic. If the President dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties, the Speaker of the National Assembly becomes acting President.

Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-World War II Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Prime Minister has a leading role in the executive branch as he selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them (similarly to the competences of the German federal chancellor). Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings, survive a vote by the Parliament and must be formally approved by the president.

In Communist Hungary, the executive branch of the People's Republic of Hungary was represented by the Council of Ministers.

Legislative branch

Parliament of Hungary.

The unicameral, 386-member National Assembly (Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. Its members are elected for a four-year term. 176 members are elected in single-seat constituencies, 152 by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies, and 58 so-called compensation seats are distributed based on the number of votes "lost" (i.e., the votes that did not produce a seat) in either the single-seat or the multi-seat constituencies. The election threshold is 5%, but it only applies to the multi-seat constituencies and the compensation seats, not the single-seat constituencies.

Political parties and elections

Judicial branches

Constitutional Court of Hungary.

A fifteen member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body was last filled on July 2010. Members are elected for a term of twelve years.

The President of the Supreme Court of Hungary and the Hungarian civil and penal legal system he leads is fully independent of the Executive Branch.

The Attorney General or Chief Prosecutor of Hungary is currently fully independent of the Executive Branch, but his status is actively debated

Several ombudsman offices exist in Hungary to protect civil, minority, educational and ecological rights in non-judicial matters. They have held the authority to issue legally binding decisions since late 2003

Financial branch

The central bank, the Hungarian National Bank has been fully independent between 1990–2004, but new legislation gave certain appointment rights to the Executive Branch in November 2004 which is disputed before the Constitutional Court.

Administrative divisions

Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular - megye), 23 urban counties* (megyei jogú városok, singular - megyei jogú város), and 1 capital city** (főváros); Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Békéscsaba*, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Budapest**, Csongrád, Debrecen*, Dunaújváros*, Eger*, Érd*, Fejér, Győr*, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Hódmezővásárhely*, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komárom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nógrád, Nyíregyháza*, Pécs*, Pest, Salgótarján*, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekszárd*, Székesfehérvár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabánya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Veszprém*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*

Involvement in International Organisations

Hungary is a member of the ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by 1 May 2004), FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, Visegrád group, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, and the Zangger Committee.

Ministries

Note: with restructruring and reorganization, this information may change even within a governmental period.

Ministers without portfolio

• Ministers without portfolio: Zsolt Semjén, Tamás Fellegi

References

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