The deputy prime minister of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország miniszterelnök-helyettese), officially the general deputy to the prime minister of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország miniszterelnökének általános helyettese), is a senior member of the Hungarian Cabinet. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices to give seniority to a particular Cabinet minister. The officeholder is responsible for specific coordination and policy areas defined by law. If the Prime Minister does not nominate a deputy prime minister, the Minister of the Interior acts as first in the order of substitution within the government hierarchy, according to established governmental practice and statutory regulation governing substitution of ministers. The office is currently held by Anita Orbán under Péter Magyar's premiership.
Terminology
Hungarian usage distinguishes between:
Deputy Prime Minister: The title is typically held by a serving cabinet minister who also retains another ministerial portfolio (commonly interior, justice, or finance). In such cases, the designation primarily indicates first place in the order of succession to the Prime Minister and does not confer formal superiority over other members of the Cabinet. At various times, Hungary has had more than one deputy prime minister serving simultaneously.
The incumbent deputy prime minister is Bálint Ruff, who has served since 16 May 2026.
General Deputy of the Prime Minister: member of the Cabinet without an independent ministerial portfolio, but with a designated office, who substitutes for the Prime Minister in accordance with the order determined by the Prime Minister and who is assigned specific statutory coordination responsibilities.
The incumbent general deputy of the prime minister is Anita Orbán, who has served since 13 May 2026.
Responsibilities The legal framework for the office is primarily defined in the Government Decree No. 182/2022. (V. 24.) on the duties and powers of the members of the Government. The general deputy substitutes for the Prime Minister according to the order determined by the head of government.
The deputy prime minister's statutory portfolio includes: Coordination of relations with churches Church policy and church diplomacy Preparation of legislation relating to religious communities Coordination of governmental strategy concerning church affairs
The general deputy has responsibilities in national policy (nemzetpolitika), including coordination relating to Hungarian communities living outside Hungary and related government programmes such as the Bethlen Gábor Fund and cross-border cooperation initiatives. The portfolio also includes nationalities policy (nemzetiségpolitika), including the preparation of legislation concerning the rights of nationalities, the coordination with nationality self-governments and the oversight of Hungary's implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (1992) and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1995) The deputy prime minister also versees administrative functions relating to state decorations and recognitions awarded by the President of Hungary, the Government, and the Prime Minister.
List of officeholders Kingdom of Hungary (1848–1849) and the Hungarian State (1849) Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Office not in use 23 March 1848 – 16 September 1848 Batthyány Deputy President of the Committee of National Defence 1 Pál Nyáry 16 September 1848 14 April 1849 Committee of National Defence Office not in use 14 April 1849 – 11 August 1849 Szemere
Kingdom of Hungary (1867–1918) Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Office not in use 17 February 1867 – 16 November 1918
Hungarian People's Republic (1918–1919) Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Office not in use 16 November 1918 – 21 March 1919 Károlyi
Berinkey
Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919) Parties
Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Governing Council of the Hungarian Soviet Republic 1 Antal Dovcsák 24 June 1919 1 August 1919 Revolutionary Governing Council
Hungarian Republic (1919–1920) Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Office not in use 6 August 1919 – 29 February 1920 Friedrich
Huszár
Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)
Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary Office not in use 29 February 1920 – 21 March 1944 1 GeneralJenő Rácz 22 March 1944 29 August 1944 Sztójay Office not in use 29 August 1944 – 16 October 1944 Lakatos 2 16 October 1944 28 March 1945 Szálasi 3 Mátyás Rákosi 15 November 1945 1 February 1946 Tildy
Republic of Hungary (1946–1949)
Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)
Republic of Hungary (1989–2012) and Hungary (2012–present)
Portrait Name Term of office Party Cabinet Took office Left office Tenure Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary Office not in use 23 May 1990 – 1 June 2010 2 Tibor Navracsics 1 June 2010 6 June 2014 Orbán II 3 Mihály Varga18 May 20184 June 2024 Orbán IV 4 Sándor Pintér 5 Zsolt Semjén 1 June 2010 12 May 2026 Orbán II
Orbán III
Orbán IV
Orbán V 6 Anita Orbán 16 May 2026 Incumbent TiszaMagyar7 Bálint Ruff 19 May 2026 Incumbent Independent
See also Prime Minister of Hungary Government of Hungary Cabinet of Hungary
References
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