General Information / Politics

The President of the Republic, elected by the Parliament  every 5 years, has a largely ceremonial role, choosing the dates of the parliamentary elections. The present president (www.keh.hu), László Sólyom has been elected during the spring of 2005, his mandate holds till 2010.

The Prime Minister (www.miniszterelnok.hu) selects Cabinet ministers (www.meh.hu) and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Each Cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in open hearings and must be formally approved by the President.

A unicameral, 386-member National Assembly (the Országgyűlés, www.parlament.hu) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the Prime Minister. National Parliamentary elections are held every 4 years. The present government based on the coalition of the Hungarian Socialists Party (MSzP) and the Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz), the next elections will be held in 2010. The present Prime Minister called Ferenc Gyurcsány, his mandate has started in 2004 and he has been reelected in 2006.

An 11-member Constitutional Court (www.mkab.hu) has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality.