Hungary's parliament is due to elect András Baka as the country's new head of state on Tuesday, 11 August — a choice that marks a symbolic turning point for a country that spent sixteen years under the governance of Viktor Orbán. Baka, 73, was nominated at the weekend by Tisza, the party of Prime Minister Péter Magyar, and his election is considered certain: Tisza holds 141 of 199 parliamentary seats, giving it a two-thirds supermajority.
Baka's candidacy carries particular historical weight. A distinguished jurist who served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from 1991 to 2008, he later became president of Hungary's Supreme Court. In 2011 and 2012, he publicly opposed Orbán's sweeping judicial reforms — legislation widely seen as an attempt to purge the courts and install loyalists — and was promptly dismissed. His election now represents a striking reversal of fortune: the judge who said no to Orbán is set to become the nation's highest symbolic authority.
The road to his nomination was not without stumbles. Following Magyar's landslide election victory in April, the new prime minister promised broad public consultations before naming a presidential candidate, only to announce the following day that chess grandmaster Judit Polgár — without her knowledge or agreement — would be his choice. Polgár quickly declined, citing the weight of the responsibility. The episode triggered a public backlash and cost Tisza up to five percentage points in opinion polls. After reviewing around ten candidates and conducting an informal online survey, the party held a secret ballot among three finalists, with Baka emerging ahead of historian Ignác Romsics and independent lawyer Botond Fülöp.
Baka steps into a role that was significantly diminished under Orbán's presidency. His three predecessors — János Áder, Katalin Novák, and Tamás Sulyok — were all Orbán allies who routinely signed legislation without challenge. While the Hungarian president's powers are largely ceremonial, the office does carry one meaningful check: the ability to refer laws to the Constitutional Court rather than signing them into force. That power went largely unused under the previous era. Tisza has framed Baka's appointment as a counterweight to the parliamentary majority and a restoration of institutional dignity, noting his lifelong commitment to the separation of powers and judicial independence.
The election is not without controversy. Orbán's Fidesz party has announced it will boycott Tuesday's vote, dismissing the process as a