Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has announced that he will ask world-renowned chess grandmaster Judit Polgár to become Hungary’s next president, describing her as a figure capable of representing the unity of the nation.
In a Facebook post published on Sunday, Magyar said he would meet Polgár on Monday to ask whether she would be willing to serve as head of state until Hungary’s planned new constitution enters into force.
The announcement comes after President Tamás Sulyok’s mandate was brought to an end by the recently adopted constitutional amendment. Parliament must elect a new president within 30 days.
“The presidency is the highest form of public service”
Magyar wrote that Hungary needs “unity, peace and a president every Hungarian can be proud of.”
“The presidency is not a profession or a job, but the highest form of public service. The president’s task is to serve and represent every Hungarian,” he said.
According to the prime minister, Judit Polgár best fits that vision because she has built her reputation through achievement rather than political connections.
Why Judit Polgár?
Magyar highlighted Polgár’s extraordinary international career, noting that she remained the world’s highest-ranked female chess player for 26 consecutive years and also broke into the world’s overall top ten rankings.
She is a five-time Chess Olympiad champion, an international grandmaster and a recipient of Hungary’s Order of Saint Stephen, the country’s highest state honour. Magyar also noted that her life and achievements were recently featured in the documentary The Queen of Chess, and that she was recently elected a member of Christ’s College, University of Cambridge.
“She earned the respect surrounding her not through political affiliation or personal connections, but through exceptional talent, hard work, integrity and extraordinary perseverance,” Magyar wrote.
He added that it would be “a great honour” if Polgár accepted the invitation.
Proposal backed by prominent public figures
Magyar’s announcement follows an open letter sent to Parliament’s Speaker, Ágnes Forsthoffer, by 16 leading Hungarian figures from science, culture and sport recommending Polgár for the presidency. Among the signatories are:
- inventor Ernő Rubik,
- mathematician László Lovász,
- network scientist Albert-László Barabási,
- astronaut Tibor Kapu,
- actor János Kulka,
- actor Pál Mácsai,
- writer András Kepes,
- poet Krisztina Tóth,
- writers Lajos Parti Nagy and Pál Závada,
- and Olympic fencing champion Tímea Nagy, among others.
In their letter, they argued that Hungary needs a president capable of helping heal political divisions while representing national unity, integrity and respect for democratic values during the country’s constitutional transition.
Parliament will make the final decision
Although Magyar has now publicly identified his preferred candidate, Judit Polgár has not yet responded publicly to the proposal.
Under Hungary’s constitution, Parliament is responsible for electing the president by secret ballot. Following the recent constitutional amendment, the next president will serve until Hungary’s planned new constitution takes effect, or for a maximum of five years.
What this means
If Judit Polgár accepts the nomination and is elected by Parliament, she would become one of the most internationally recognised public figures ever to serve as Hungary’s head of state. Her lack of previous party-political involvement is consistent with the criteria Péter Magyar has said he is seeking for the office.
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‘ Think outside the box ‘ – Judit Polgár a brilliant choice .
Not to mention as a criterion for her suitability, I suppose, that the risk of her forming independent opinions on matters of statecraft, much less voicing criticisms of the present government, is vanishingly low
Checkmate on Fidesz.
When I think of chess players and politics I think of Bobby Fisher and Garry Kasparov. I think they are somewhat different. Magnus Carlsen might have swagger. Otherwise I don’t know much about chess. Seems like maybe Go has more degrees of freedom to keep track of but then I don’t know everything like Larry Page and Sergei Brin do. If information was worth anything, imagine the taxes they and Zuck would owe!
Also I don’t really have much perspective on the candidate. It seems like a cannonball run to amend stuff that the Helsinki Commission would have more to say about than me, the same way Orbán Viktor 1989 would have when he debated Orbán Viktor 2009, fresh off the Őszöd Speech if it was the ex-wife of Magyar Péter saying the stuff.
A President of the Republuc is generally supported by a team of consultants in the varjous matters.
If she is a bright,independent minded,honest professional that’s interesting for the Country.