Presidential Elections
The President of Hungary, who has a largely ceremonial role under the country's constitution, is elected by the members of the National Assembly to serve for a term of five years (maximum two times), and has to quit their political party (if they have one) in order to be impartial and able to express the unity of the nation (so the "Political Party" column refers to their party membership, prior to becoming president).
Presidents of Hungary:
| # | Picture | Name | From | Until | Political party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mátyás Szűrös | 18 October 1989 | 2 May 1990 | Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) | interim president
(until the formation of the first freely elected National Assembly) |
||
| 1 | Árpád Göncz | 2 May 1990 | 4 August 2000 | Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) | president of the republic | |
| 2 | Ferenc Mádl | 4 August 2000 | 5 August 2005 | Non-partisan | president of the republic | |
| 3 | László Sólyom | 5 August 2005 | 6 August 2010 | Non-partisan | president of the republic | |
| 4 | Pál Schmitt | 6 August 2010 | 2 April 2012 (resigned) |
Fidesz | president of the republic | |
| László Kövér | 2 April 2012 | 10 May 2012 | Fidesz | acting president | ||
| 5 | János Áder | 10 May 2012 | Incumbent | Fidesz | president of the republic |
Parties Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) Fidesz
The non-partisan Ferenc Mádl had been elected by the Fidesz-FKgp-MDF government in 2000, while the also non-partisan László Sólyom (former President of the Constitutional Court) had been elected president as the opposition Fidesz's and MDF's candidate in 2005. The minor party of the coalition government (SZDSZ) did not support the superior coalition government party's (MSZP) candidate, therefore Mr. Sólyom could win as an opposition candidate.
Read more about this topic: Elections In Hungary
Famous quotes containing the words presidential and/or elections:
“Under a Presidential government, a nation has, except at the electing moment, no influence; it has not the ballot-box before it; its virtue is gone, and it must wait till its instant of despotism again returns.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“Apparently, a democracy is a place where numerous elections are held at great cost without issues and with interchangeable candidates.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)