📅 Latest Update — Hungary:
András Baka became President of Hungary on August 19, 2026. The National Assembly elected him on August 11, 2026, by 140 votes to 6, after the governing Tisza party nominated him. He succeeds Tamás Sulyok, whose term was ended by a constitutional amendment in July 2026; Speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer served as acting president from July 20 to August 19.
About András Baka
András Baka (born 11 December 1952 in Budapest) is a Hungarian jurist who has served as President of Hungary since 19 August 2026. He sits as an independent and is not a member of any political party.
Baka graduated in law from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in 1978 and worked as a legal scholar at the Institute for Legal Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. During the transition to democracy he led professional trade unions, and from 1990 to 1991 he was an independent member of the National Assembly elected on the Hungarian Democratic Forum list.
From 1991 to 2008 he was Hungary’s judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In 2009 he was elected President of the Supreme Court of Hungary, but his term was cut short when the Orbán government reorganised the court as the Curia. He challenged his removal in Strasbourg, and the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Baka v. Hungary that his rights to a fair trial and freedom of expression had been violated.
The presidency of Hungary is a largely ceremonial office. Under the amendment that removed his predecessor, Baka’s term runs for five years or until a new constitution takes effect.