Hungary PM proposes former chess champion Judit Polgar for president

"Our country needs unity, peace and a president of whom all Hungarians can be proud," Peter Magyar said in a Facebook post, adding that he will meet with Polgar on Monday to ask her if she would be willing to serve. AI automatic translation from Hungarian of a Facebook post published on 19 July 2026 by Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar, proposing former chess champion Judit Polgar to become Hungary's next president.

Polgar, who will turn 50 in a few days, is considered as the greatest woman chess player of all time and was the top-ranked woman player for 25 years when she retired in 2014. Polgar at the 2008 Mainz Chess Classic.

Hungarian lawmakers last week passed an amendment that removed current President Tamas Sulyok, an ally of former prime minister Viktor Orban whom Magyar swept from power during elections this year.

Spontaneous mass celebrations in Budapest after Orban's ouster

Magyar, who won his landslide victory in April on the promise of "regime change" after Orban's 16 years in power, has accused the unpopular president and other top state officials of being Orban's "puppets".

Sulyok's last day as president was Sunday and Agnes Forsthoffer, the speaker of parliament, is set to temporarily serve as head of state until parliament elects a new president within 30 days. Hungary's Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar congratulates the new Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, Agnes Forsthoffer, during the inaugural session of Hungary's parliament in Budapest, Hungary, May 9, 2026.

Some rights groups have criticised the constitutional change, with Human Rights Watch saying in a news release that the tinkering was "reminiscent of (the) Fidesz era," referring to Orban's party.

(With newswires)