Hungary elects former top judge András Baka as president

Published Aug 12, 10:45 AM UTC

On 11 August 2026, the Hungarian parliament elected András Baka, a legal scholar and former Supreme Court president, as the country's new president. Baka, who was unlawfully removed from his judicial post by Viktor Orbán's Fidesz government in 2011—a move later condemned by the European Court of Human Rights—was nominated by the ruling Tisza party, which holds a two-thirds majority. The election followed a constitutional amendment that ended the term of Fidesz-appointed president Tamás Sulyok. Prime Minister Péter Magyar's initial choice, chess grandmaster Judit Polgár, declined the post after internal backlash. Baka's election is seen as a deliberate choice for a president who will serve as an independent check on government power, rather than a rubber stamp. His term is limited to a maximum of five years or until a new constitution is adopted.