Politics of Hungary

Politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Hungary is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The party system is dominated by the socialdemocratic Hungarian Socialist Party and the conservative Hungarian Civic Union or FIDESZ. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.The Republic of Hungary is an independent, democratic and constitutional state. 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

President
László Sólyom|
5 August 2005
-
Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány
MSZP
29 September 2004The President of the Republic, elected by the National Assembly every five 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.

Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-WWII 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.

Legislative branch

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 branch

An eleven member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body has never been filled completely and currently convenes with just nine members, which verges on incapacitation. Fact|date=December 2007

The President of the Supreme Court 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 can 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"), 20 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*

Member of the international organizations

Hungary is member of ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by May 1, 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, Zangger Committee

Ministries

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

* Prime Minister's Office "(Miniszterelnöki Hivatal)" "minister:" Péter Kiss
* Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development "(Földművelésügyi és Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium)" "minister:" József Gráf
* Ministry of Defence "(Honvédelmi Minisztérium)" "minister:" Imre Szekeres
* Ministry of National Development and Economic Affairs "(Nemzeti Fejlesztési és Gazdasági Minisztérium)" "minister:" Gordon Bajnai
* Ministry of Education and Culture "(Oktatási és Kultúrális Minisztérium)" "minister:" István Hiller
* Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water "(Környezetvédelmi és Vízügyi Minisztérium)" "minister:" Imre Szabó
* Ministry of Finance "(Pénzügyminisztérium)" "minister:" János Veres
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs "(Külügyminisztérium)" "minister:" Kinga Göncz dr.
* Ministry of Health "(Egészségügyi Minisztérium)" "minister:" Tamás Székely
* Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement "(Igazságügyi és Rendészeti Minisztérium)" "minister:" Tibor Draskovics dr.
* Ministry of Local Government "(Önkormányzati Minisztérium)" "minister:" István Gyenesei
* Ministry of Transport, Communication and Energy "(Közlekedési, Hírközlési és Energiaügyi Minisztérium)" "minister:" Pál Szabó
* Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour "(Szociális és Munkaügyi Minisztérium)" "minister:" Erika Szűcs

Ministers without portfolio

* Minister without Portfolio responsible for/in charge of European affairs "(Európai integrációs ügyek koordinációjáért felelős tárca nélküli miniszter)" "minister:" György Szilvási dr.
* Minister without portfolio for regional development and housing/convergence "(Regionális fejlesztésért és felzárkóztatásért felelős tárca nélküli miniszter)"

(Sources differ on the English names.)