Hungary

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Hungary

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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 social democratic Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and the conservative Fidesz. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Republic of Hungary is an independent, democratic and constitutional state, which has been a member of the European union since 2004. 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.

[edit] Executive branch

The 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Political parties and elections

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular - megye), 23 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*

[edit] 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

[edit] Ministries

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

[edit] Ministers without portfolio

• Ministers without portfolio: Ádám Ficsor, Péter Kiss

(Sources differ on the English names.)

[edit] External links

• Politics.hu - English-language resource about Hungarian politics

[edit] References

1. ^ Website of the Prime Minister's Office, retrieved 20th July 2009.