Hungary's parliament elected András Baka, a former Supreme Court president once removed from the bench by Viktor Orbán, as the country's new head of state on 11 August 2026. Lawmakers backed him by a vote of 140 to 6, according to Washington Post reporting, which also notes there were no abstentions. Baka's rise to the largely ceremonial presidency comes as Prime Minister Péter Magyar's government works to unwind the political and economic structures Orbán built over 16 years in power.
Although the presidency carries mostly symbolic weight, Baka's tenure is unlikely to be quiet. He will be responsible for supervising the drafting of a new constitution meant to replace the charter Orbán introduced in 2011, while also keeping watch over Magyar's broader push to dismantle the interlocking web of political and economic influence Fidesz assembled during its long rule.
What did Baka say after his election?
Baka used his first address to parliament to call for restraint rather than retribution as the country moves past the Orbán era.
We cannot build the new Hungary on revenge.
He acknowledged that the political shift has produced starkly different reactions across Hungarian society.
The majority of society now feels a sense of liberation and hope. Others feel disappointment and uncertainty. In a democratic society, this is not an anomaly, but a natural state of affairs.
He also pledged the widest possible public debate over the shape of the new constitution, and closed his remarks with a reminder of what he sees as the proper role of government.
The state is not there for itself. It is there for the people.
Why did Fidesz walk out before the vote?
All 51 members of parliament from Orbán's Fidesz party left the chamber before voting took place, protesting the removal last month of Tamás Sulyok, their preferred candidate, from the presidency. According to CGTN, Sulyok's mandate formally ended at midnight on 20 July 2026 under the 17th amendment to Hungary's Fundamental Law, the legal mechanism that cleared the way for Baka's nomination. Al Jazeera reported that Tisza put Baka forward for the post on 9 August 2026, and that Fidesz described the move as authoritarian. Fidesz has separately accused Magyar's government of building a "tyranny," even though it was Fidesz that pushed Baka out of the Supreme Court presidency in 2011 after he tried to resist the party's efforts to weaken judicial independence.
Who else was considered for the role?
Baka was not the only name in contention. Euronews reported that he was selected from a three-person shortlist that also included historian Ignác Romsics and lawyer Botond Fülöp before Tisza settled on Baka as its nominee.
What has changed since Magyar took office?
Since forming a government in early May 2026, Magyar's administration has moved quickly to unpick Orbán's legacy, passing 27 laws and two constitutional amendments. Hungary's earlier states of emergency covering migration, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine — all previously used by Orbán to govern by decree — have been cancelled. The Sovereignty Protection Office, which the former government used against critical journalists and non-governmental organisations, was scrapped and replaced with a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office empowered to investigate and prosecute alleged theft of state funds under Fidesz rule. Public broadcasting went off air on 9 July 2026 as news programming is overhauled, with officials saying the goal is to restore editorial independence after years of the outlets functioning as government mouthpieces. Amendments 16 and 17 to the constitution also capped the prime minister at two terms and MPs at three, while restoring the Constitutional Court's power to review parliamentary legislation — a power Fidesz had stripped away. These moves build on an earlier measure detailed in our coverage of parliament's move to cap prime ministerial terms, which was designed specifically to block any Orbán comeback, and follow the rapid start Magyar's government made after the April election, described in our report on Magyar's swift moves following Orbán's defeat.
Will Baka simply follow the government's lead?
Tisza lawmakers may not find in Baka the compliant figurehead they might expect. In an interview given before his nomination, Baka told a broadcast interviewer that he personally opposes the new limit on MPs' terms, arguing it improperly restricts voters' freedom to choose their own representatives. He described his path into public life in personal terms.
I am not a political man. I got involved in politics through my professional, legal way of thinking.
Baka spent 17 years as Hungary's judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg — serving there from 1991 to 2008, according to the Washington Post — before leading Hungary's Supreme Court from 2009 to 2011, when Orbán's government removed him three years short of completing his term. His age was reported as 73 in some accounts and as 74 by the Washington Post. Parliament has designated him a transitional figure: under the constitutional amendment enabling his presidency, his term will end either when the new constitution takes effect or after a maximum of five years, whichever comes first. In his closing remarks to lawmakers, Baka signalled his intent to resist Hungary's long-standing tendency to place excessive trust in strong individual leaders.
What happens next?
Baka is expected to be formally sworn in on 19 August 2026, eight days after his election, according to both the Telex news outlet and the Washington Post. Once in office, his central task will be overseeing the drafting of Hungary's new constitution alongside monitoring the government's continuing efforts to unwind Orbán-era institutions.
- András Baka was elected president of Hungary on 11 August 2026 by a vote of 140 to 6, with no abstentions.
- He previously served 17 years as Hungary's judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, from 1991 to 2008.
- Orbán's government removed him as Supreme Court president in 2011, three years before his term was due to end.
- All 51 Fidesz MPs walked out of parliament before the vote in protest at the earlier removal of former president Tamás Sulyok.
- Baka is expected to be sworn in on 19 August 2026 and will oversee drafting of a new constitution.
