Chess grandmaster Judit Polgár has turned down an invitation to become Hungary’s head of state, days after Prime Minister Péter Magyar removed the sitting president from office. Polgár, widely regarded as the greatest female player in the game’s history, announced her decision on July 20.
She said she did not have the strength to “take on the historic responsibility of uniting a divided nation”, though she pledged to back whoever is eventually chosen. Polgár called the offer one of the greatest honours of her life.
The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, though its holder can delay legislation and refer laws for review. Polgár praised Magyar for seeking an independent, non-partisan figure despite his party’s grip on parliament.
Her name had been put forward on July 19 in an open letter signed by 16 figures from Hungarian culture, science and sport, published a day after the president stepped aside. Magyar backed the proposal the same evening.
Magyar’s Tisza party won a landslide at the April 12 election, ending the 16-year rule of former prime minister Viktor Orbán and his national-conservative Fidesz. Tisza holds a two-thirds majority in the 199-seat National Assembly, enough to change the constitution alone.
Tamás Sulyok, the outgoing president, had signed a constitutional amendment passed by Tisza that ended his term, a step Magyar pursued for months. Sulyok, elected in 2024 with Fidesz backing, warned in a video that Hungary’s constitutional order was being dismantled.
Ágnes Forsthoffer, the speaker of the National Assembly, is serving as interim head of state. Parliament has 30 days to elect a successor, who would hold office until a new constitution takes effect or for a maximum of five years.
The nomination had drawn criticism, with opponents saying Magyar pressed ahead without the public consultation he had promised. Amnesty International Hungary said the problem lay with the prime minister’s procedure rather than with Polgár herself.
Magyar apologised for communication errors he blamed on his own enthusiasm and said the responsibility was his alone. He said the Tisza group would weigh candidates over the coming days before submitting a name to parliament.
The dispute has fuelled concern that Magyar is using his majority to reshape Hungary’s institutions, echoing rule-of-law rows that marked the Orbán years. The European Parliament has declined to debate the constitutional changes.
