View source for Prime Minister of Hungary

{{Short description|Head of government of Hungary}}
{{about|the position of Prime Minister of Hungary|individual Hungarian prime ministers|List of prime ministers of Hungary}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Prime Minister
| body = Hungary
| native_name = {{Lang|hu|Magyarország miniszterelnöke}}
| insignia = Coat of arms of Hungary (oak and olive branches).svg
| insigniasize = 100px
| imagesize = 220px
| insigniacaption = [[Coat of arms of Hungary|Coat of arms used by the Prime Minister]]<ref>{{Citation |title=2011. évi CCII. törvény Magyarország címerének és zászlajának használatáról, valamint állami kitüntetéseiről |url=http://net.jogtar.hu/jr/gen/hjegy_doc.cgi?docid=A1100202.TV |work=CompLex Hatályos Jogszabályok Gyűjteménye |trans-title=Act CCII of 2011 on the Use of the Coat of Arms and Flag of Hungary and on State Awards |language=hu |via=net.jogtar.hu |mode=cs1}}</ref>
| image = Viktor Orbán Tallinn Digital Summit.jpg
| incumbent = [[Viktor Orbán]]
| incumbentsince = 29 May 2010
| type = [[Head of government]]
| department = {{ublist|[[Government of Hungary]]|Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister|Prime Minister's Office}}
| style = Mr. Prime Minister (informal)<br>[[Excellency|His Excellency]] {{Small|(diplomatic)}}
| member_of = {{hlist|[[Government of Hungary|Cabinet]]|[[European Council]]|[[National Assembly (Hungary)|Parliament]]}}
| reports_to = Parliament
| seat = [[Carmelite Monastery of Buda]]
| nominator = [[President of Hungary|President]]
| appointer = Elected by
| appointer_qualified = [[National Assembly (Hungary)|National Assembly]]
| termlength = Four years, no term limit
| constituting_instrument = [[April Laws]] {{Small|(historic)}}<br>[[Constitution of Hungary|Fundamental Law]] {{Small|(current)}}
| precursor = [[Palatine of Hungary|Palatine]]
| formation = 7 March 1848
| deputy = [[Deputy prime minister]] ([[:hu:Magyarország miniszterelnök-helyetteseinek listája|list]])
| salary = {{currency|7100000|HUF}} / {{currency|21030|USD}} monthly<ref>{{Cite web |last=HVG |date=25 February 2025 |title= Újra nőtt Orbán Viktor fizetése|url=https://hvg.hu/itthon/20250225_orban-viktor-ksh-atlagber-fizetes-kepviselo |access-date=25 February 2025 |website=[[Heti Világgazdaság|HVG.hu]] |language=hu}}</ref>
| website = [http://www.kormany.hu/en/the-prime-minister The Prime Minister's Office]
| inaugural = [[Lajos Batthyány]]
}}
{{Politics of Hungary}}

The '''prime minister of Hungary''' ({{langx|hu|Magyarország miniszterelnöke}}) is the [[head of government]] of [[Hungary]]. The [[prime minister]] and the [[government of Hungary|Cabinet]] are collectively [[accountability|accountable]] for their policies and actions to the [[National Assembly (Hungary)|Parliament]], to their [[list of political parties in Hungary|political party]] and ultimately to the [[elections in Hungary|electorate]]. The [[List of prime ministers of Hungary|current]] holder of the office is [[Viktor Orbán]], leader of the [[Fidesz|Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance]], who has served since 29 May 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Members of the Government |url=http://www.kormany.hu/en/members-of-the-government |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224222358/http://www.kormany.hu/en/members-of-the-government |archive-date=24 February 2018 |access-date=10 March 2018 |website=Website of the Hungarian Government}}</ref>

According to the [[Hungarian Constitution]], the prime minister is nominated by the [[president of Hungary]] and formally elected by the National Assembly. Constitutionally, the president is required to nominate the leader of the political party that wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly as prime minister.<ref name="Flaw">{{Citation |title=The Fundamental Law of Hungary |url=https://njt.hu/translation/TheFundamentalLawofHungary_20201223_FINrev.pdf |via=Nemzeti Jogszabálytár |mode=cs1}}</ref> If there is no party with a majority, the president holds an audience with the leaders of all parties represented in the assembly and nominates the person who is most likely to command a majority in the assembly, who is then formally elected by a simple majority of the assembly. In practice, when this situation occurs, the prime minister is the leader of the party winning a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] of votes in the election, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition.

== Official title ==
The title of Hungary's head of government in Hungarian is ''miniszterelnök''. Translated, this means "[[minister-president]]". However, since "[[prime minister]]" or "[[premier]]" is the more usual title in a parliamentary system for a head of government in English-speaking nations, the title is translated as "prime minister" by most English sources.

== History of the office ==
[[File:Barabas-batthyany.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Count]] [[Lajos Batthyány]] by [[Miklós Barabás]], 1848. He was appointed as Hungary's first Prime Minister.]]
The longest-serving prime minister is incumbent office-holder [[Viktor Orbán]], who held the position from 6 July 1998 to 27 May 2002 and from 29 May 2010 until present-day. He surpassed Kálmán Tisza as the longest-serving prime minister on 30 November 2020. If the years are counted cumulatively, with 19 years in total as of 2025.
=== Palatine of Hungary ===
{{main|Palatine (Kingdom of Hungary)}}
The '''palatine''' ({{langx|la|comes palatii, comes palatinus}}, later ''{{lang|la|palatinus (regni)}}'', {{langx|hu|nádorispán/nádor}}, {{langx|sk|nádvorný župan / nádvorný špán}}, later: ''{{lang|sk|palatín/nádvorník}}'', {{langx|de|Palatin}}) was the highest dignitary in the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] after the [[monarch|king]] (a kind of powerful [[Prime Minister]] and supreme judge) from the kingdom's rise up to 1848/1918.

Initially, he was the representative of the king; later, the vice-regent ([[viceroy]]). In the early centuries of the kingdom, he was appointed by the king, later elected by the [[Diet (assembly)|Diet]] of the Kingdom of Hungary. After the [[Habsburg]]s solidified their hold of Hungary, the dignity became an appointed position once again. Finally, it became hereditary in a cadet (junior) branch of the Habsburg dynasty after [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|King Francis]] appointed his brother [[Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary|Joseph]].

=== Creation of the position ===
{{main|Hungarian Revolution of 1848}}
During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the revolutionaries wanted the creation of a Hungarian cabinet which would be independent from the [[Austrian Empire]] and the Buda Chancellery (which was an office of the imperial governor-general). One of the [[12 points of the Hungarian Revolutionaries of 1848|12 points]] said: ''2. A responsible government in [[Buda]]-[[Pest, Hungary|Pest]].''

[[Ferdinand I of Austria|Ferdinand V]] appointed Count [[Lajos Batthyány]] for the position of prime minister of Hungary on 17 March 1848. The government was called ''ministry'', different from the current acceptance. The ministries were called ''departments''. The position was vacant after the defeat of the freedom fight.

==See also==
*[[List of prime ministers of Hungary]]
*[[Records of prime ministers of Hungary]]
*[[List of prime ministers of Hungary by tenure]]
*[[List of prime ministers of Hungary (graphical)]]
*[[List of heads of state of Hungary]]
*[[List of Hungarian monarchs]]
*[[List of palatines of Hungary]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Prime ministers of Hungary}}
* [http://www.kormany.hu/en/the-prime-minister Official government Web site of the Office of the Prime Minister]

{{HungarianPrimeMinisters}}
{{Hungary topics}}
{{Europe heads of state and government}}
{{European Council}}
{{Prime Minister}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Minister Of Hungary}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Prime ministers of Hungary| ]]
[[Category:Political history of Hungary]]
[[Category:1848 establishments in Hungary]]