republic · Balkans and Hungary
Hungary
Origins
On 23 October 1989, the anniversary of the 1956 revolution, the Republic of Hungary was proclaimed, replacing the Hungarian People's Republic after Round Table talks between communists and opposition. The first free elections in spring 1990 brought József Antall's Hungarian Democratic Forum to power, and Árpád Göncz became president.
Rule and society
Hungary is a parliamentary republic with a prime minister responsible to a single-chamber National Assembly. The 1990s brought rapid privatisation and foreign investment, followed by alternating governments of left and right. Fidesz under Viktor Orbán won a two-thirds majority in 2010 and adopted a new Fundamental Law in 2011, which renamed the state simply Hungary.
To the present
Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Orbán's governments, re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022, have clashed with the EU over the rule of law, media freedom and migration, and some EU funds were withheld. In April 2026 Péter Magyar's Tisza party won a two-thirds majority, ending sixteen years of Fidesz government.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hungary. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hungary
- MLA
- “Hungary.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hungary. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Hungary.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hungary.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hungary’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hungary (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻