Minister of Justice (Hungary)

The minister of justice of Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország igazságügyi minisztere) is a member of the Hungarian cabinet and the head of the Ministry of Justice. As of 1 August 2023, the justice minister is Tuzson Bence.

The position was called People's Commissar of Justice (Hungarian: igazságügyi népbiztos) during the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, Minister of Justice and Law Enforcement (Hungarian: igazságügyi és rendészeti miniszter) from 2006 to 2010 and Minister of Public Administration and Justice (Hungarian: közigazgatási és igazságügyi miniszter) between 2010 and 2014.

Ministers of justice (1848–1919)

Hungarian Kingdom (1848–1849)

Parties   Opposition Party

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Ferenc Deák (1803–1876)	17 March 1848	2 October 1848	Opposition Party	Batthyány	Last Diet
							1 (1848)
2		Committee of National Defence	2 October 1848	14 April 1849	—	Committee of National Defence

Hungarian State (1849)

Parties   Opposition Party

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Committee of National Defence	14 April 1849	2 May 1849	—	Committee of National Defence	1 (1848)
2		Sebő Vukovics (1811–1872)	2 May 1849	11 August 1849	Opposition Party	Szemere

After the collapse of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Kingdom became an integral part of the Austrian Empire until 1867, when dual Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was created.

Hungarian Kingdom (1867–1918)

Parties   Deák Party/Liberal Party/National Party of Work   National Constitution Party   F48P/F48P–Károlyi   Civic Democratic Party (PDP)   Civic Radical Party (PRP)   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Boldizsár Horvát (1822–1898)	20 February 1867	5 June 1871	Deák Party	Andrássy DP	3 (1865)
							4 (1869)
2		István Bittó (1822–1903)	5 June 1871	14 November 1871	Deák Party	Andrássy DP
			14 November 1871	4 September 1872		Lónyay DP
							5 (1872)
3		Tivadar Pauler (1816–1886) 1st term	4 September 1872	4 December 1872	Deák Party
			4 December 1872	21 March 1874		Szlávy DP
			21 March 1874	2 March 1875		Bittó DP–BK
4		Béla Perczel (1819–1888)	2 March 1875	20 October 1875	Liberal Party	Wenckheim SZP
			20 October 1875	30 June 1878		K. Tisza SZP	6 (1875)
(3)		Tivadar Pauler (1816–1886) 2nd term	30 June 1878	30 April 1886	Liberal Party
							7 (1878)
							8 (1881)
							9 (1884)
5		Teofil Fabiny (1822–1908)	30 April 1886	9 April 1889	Liberal Party
							10 (1887)
6		Dezső Szilágyi (1840–1901)	9 April 1889	13 March 1890	Liberal Party
			13 March 1890	17 November 1892		Szapáry SZP
							11 (1892)
			17 November 1892	15 January 1895		Wekerle I SZP
7		Sándor Erdély (1839–1922)	15 January 1895	26 February 1899	Liberal Party	Bánffy SZP
							12 (1896)
8		Sándor Plósz (1846–1925)	26 February 1899	27 June 1903	Liberal Party	Széll SZP
							13 (1901)
			27 June 1903	3 November 1903		Khuen-Héderváry I SZP
			3 November 1903	18 June 1905		I. Tisza I SZP
9		Bertalan Lányi (1851–1921)	18 June 1905	2 April 1906	Liberal Party	Fejérváry SZP	14 (1905)
10		Gusztáv Gegus (1855–1933)	2 April 1906	8 April 1906	Independent
11		Géza Polónyi (1848–1920)	8 April 1906	2 February 1907	F48P	Wekerle II F48P–OAP–KNP–PDP	15 (1906)
12		Antal Günther (1847–1920)	2 February 1907	23 September 1909	F48P
13		Sándor Wekerle (1848–1921)	23 September 1909	17 January 1910	National Constitution Party
14		Ferenc Székely (1842–1921)	17 January 1910	22 April 1912	National Party of Work	Khuen-Héderváry II NMP
							16 (1910)
			22 April 1912	4 January 1913		Lukács NMP
15		Jenő Balogh (1864–1953)	4 January 1913	15 June 1917	National Party of Work
						I. Tisza II NMP
16		Vilmos Vázsonyi (1868–1926) 1st term	15 June 1917	18 August 1917	PDP	Esterházy NMP–F48P–OAP–PDP–KNP
17		Károly Grecsák (1854–1924)	18 August 1917	23 August 1917	Independent
			23 August 1917	25 January 1918		Wekerle III NMP–F48P–OAP–PDP–KNP
(16)		Vilmos Vázsonyi (1868–1926) 2nd term	25 January 1918	8 May 1918	PDP
18		Gusztáv Tőry (1857–1925)	8 May 1918	31 October 1918	Independent
19		Barna Buza (1873–1944)	31 October 1918	4 November 1918	F48P–Károlyi	M. Károlyi F48P–Károlyi–PRP–MSZDP	MNT (—)
20		Dénes Berinkey (1871–1944)	4 November 1918	16 November 1918	PRP

Hungarian People's Republic (1918–1919)

Parties   Civic Radical Party (PRP)   F48P–Károlyi

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Dénes Berinkey (1871–1944)	4 November 1918	19 January 1919	PRP	M. Károlyi F48P–Károlyi–PRP–MSZDP	MNT (—)
—		Dénes Berinkey (1871–1944) acting	19 January 1919	24 January 1919		Berinkey F48P–Károlyi–PRP–MSZDP–OKGFP
2		Sándor Juhász Nagy (1883–1946)	24 January 1919	21 March 1919	F48P–Károlyi

People's commissars of justice (1919)

Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)

Parties   MSZP/SZKMMP

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Zoltán Rónai (1880–1940) serving with István Ládai from 5 April 1919	21 March 1919	24 June 1919	MSZP/SZKMMP	Central Executive Council MSZP/SZKMMP	TOGY (—)
(1)		Zoltán Rónai (1880–1940) de facto	24 June 1919	1 August 1919
1		István Ládai (1873–1936) serving with Zoltán Rónai	5 April 1919	24 June 1919	MSZP/SZKMMP
2		Péter Ágoston (1874–1925) de jure	24 June 1919	1 August 1919	SZKMMP

Counter-revolutionary governments (1919)

Parties   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
—		Lajos Pálmai (1866–1937)	5 May 1919	31 May 1919	Independent	Arad	—
—		Gyula Károlyi (1871–1947) acting	31 May 1919	6 June 1919	Independent	Szeged I
			6 June 1919	12 July 1919		Szeged II

Ministers of justice (1919–2006)

Hungarian People's Republic (1919)

Parties   MSZDP

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Ernő Garami (1876–1935)	1 August 1919	6 August 1919 (deposed)	MSZDP	Peidl MSZDP	—

Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)

Parties   National Democratic Civil Party (NDPP)   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
—		Béla Szászy (1865–1931) acting	7 August 1919	15 August 1919	Independent	Friedrich KNP/KNEP–OKGFP	—
1		György Baloghy (1861–1931)	15 August 1919	17 September 1919	Independent
2		Béla Zoltán (1865–1929)	17 September 1919	24 November 1919	Independent
3		István Bárczy (1866–1943)	24 November 1919	29 February 1920	NDPP	Huszár KNEP–OKGFP–MSZDP–NDPP

Hungarian Kingdom (1920–1946)

Parties   National Democratic Civil Party (NDPP)   National Smallholders and Agricultural Labourers Party (OKGFP)   EP–NEP–MÉP   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		István Bárczy (1866–1943)	29 February 1920	15 March 1920	KNEP	Huszár KNEP–OKGFP–MSZDP–NDPP	—
2		Gyula Ferdinandy (1873–1960)	15 March 1920	19 July 1920	OKGFP	Simonyi-Semadam KNEP–OKGFP	17 (1920)
3		Vilmos Pál Tomcsányi (1880–1959)	19 July 1920	14 April 1921	OKGFP	Teleki I KNEP–OKGFP
			14 April 1921	16 June 1922		Bethlen (KNEP–OKGFP)→EP
							18 (1922)
4		Géza Daruváry (1866–1934)	16 June 1922	11 June 1923	Independent
5		Emil Nagy (1871–1956)	11 June 1923	21 February 1924	EP
—		István Bethlen (1874–1946) acting	21 February 1924	13 March 1924	EP
6		Pál Pesthy (1873–1952)	13 March 1924	8 January 1929	EP
							19 (1926)
—		István Bethlen (1874–1946) acting	8 January 1929	4 February 1929	EP
7		Tibor Zsitvay (1884–1969)	4 February 1929	24 August 1931	EP
							20 (1931)
			24 August 1931	1 October 1932		G. Károlyi EP–KGSZP
8		Andor Lázár (1882–1971)	1 October 1932	12 October 1936	NEP	Gömbös NEP
							21 (1935)
			12 October 1936	9 March 1938		Darányi NEP
9		Ödön Mikecz (1894–1965)	9 March 1938	14 May 1938	NEP
			14 May 1938	15 November 1938		Imrédy NEP
10		András Tasnádi Nagy (1882–1956)	15 November 1938	16 February 1939	NEP
			16 February 1939	9 November 1939		Teleki II MÉP
							22 (1939)
11		László Radocsay (1878–1968)	9 November 1939	3 April 1941	MÉP
			3 April 1941	9 March 1942		Bárdossy MÉP
			9 March 1942	22 March 1944 (deposed)		Kállay MÉP
12		István Antal (1896–1975)	22 March 1944	29 August 1944	MÉP	Sztójay MÉP–MMP
13		Gábor Vladár (1881–1972)	29 August 1944	16 October 1944 (deposed)	Independent	Lakatos MÉP

Government of National Unity (1944–1945)

Parties   Arrow Cross Party

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		László Budinszky (1895–1946)	16 October 1944	28 March 1945	NYKP	Szálasi NYKP–MMP	—

Soviet-backed provisional governments (1944–1946)

Parties   MSZDP

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Ágoston Valentiny (1888–1958)	22 December 1944	21 July 1945	MSZDP	Provisional National Government FKGP–MKP–MSZDP–NPP–PDP	INGY (1944)
2		István Ries (1885–1950)	21 July 1945	15 November 1945	MSZDP
			15 November 1945	1 February 1946		Tildy FKGP–MKP–MSZDP–NPP	23 (1945)

Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)

Parties   MSZDP   MDP

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		István Ries (1885–1950)	1 February 1946	31 May 1947	MSZDP	F. Nagy FKGP–MKP–MSZDP–NPP	23 (1945)
			31 May 1947	14 June 1948		Dinnyés MKP–FKGP–MSZDP–NPP
							24 (1947)
(1)			14 June 1948	10 December 1948	MDP
			10 December 1948	20 August 1949		Dobi MDP–FKGP–NPP
							25 (1949)

Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)

Parties   MDP-MSZMP

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		István Ries (1885–1950)	20 August 1949	17 July 1950	MDP	Dobi MDP	25 (1949)
2		Erik Molnár (1894–1966) 1st term	17 July 1950	14 August 1952	MDP
			14 August 1952	14 November 1952		Rákosi MDP
3		Gyula Décsi (1919–1990)	17 July 1950	2 February 1953	MDP
4		Béla Kovács (1910–1980)	2 February 1953	4 July 1953	MDP
5		Ferenc Erdei (1910–1971)	4 July 1953	30 October 1954	MDP	I. Nagy I MDP	26 (1953)
6		Erik Molnár (1894–1966) 2nd term	30 October 1954	18 April 1955	MDP
			18 April 1955	24 October 1956		Hegedüs MDP
			24 October 1956	3 November 1956		I. Nagy II MDP/MSZMP–FKGP
7		Ferenc Nezvál (1909–1987)	9 May 1957	28 January 1958	MSZMP	Kádár I MSZMP
			28 January 1958	13 September 1961		Münnich MSZMP
							27 (1958)
			13 September 1961	30 June 1965		Kádár II MSZMP
							28 (1963)
			30 June 1965	7 December 1966		Kállai MSZMP
8		Mihály Korom (1927–1993)	7 December 1966	14 April 1967	MSZMP
			14 April 1967	15 May 1975		Fock MSZMP	29 (1967)
							30 (1971)
			15 May 1975	22 April 1978		Lázár MSZMP
							31 (1975)
9		Imre Markója (1931–2008)	22 April 1978	25 June 1987	MSZMP
							32 (1980)
							33 (1985)
			25 June 1987	29 June 1988		Grósz MSZMP
10		Kálmán Kulcsár (1928–2010)	29 June 1988	24 November 1988	MSZMP
			24 November 1988	7 October 1989		Németh (MSZMP)→MSZP
(10)			7 October 1989	23 October 1989	Independent

Hungarian Republic (1989–2006)

Parties   MSZP   MDF   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
—		Kálmán Kulcsár (1928–2010) provisional	23 October 1989	23 May 1990	Independent	Németh MSZP	—
1		István Balsai (1947–2020)	23 May 1990	21 December 1993	MDF	Antall MDF–FKGP–KDNP	34 (1990)
			21 December 1993	15 July 1994		Boross MDF–EKGP–KDNP
2		Pál Vastagh (1946–)	15 July 1994	8 July 1998	MSZP	Horn MSZP–SZDSZ	35 (1994)
3		Ibolya Dávid (1954–)	8 July 1998	27 May 2002	MDF	Orbán I Fidesz–FKGP–MDF	36 (1998)
4		Péter Bárándy (1949–)	27 May 2002	4 October 2004	Independent	Medgyessy MSZP–SZDSZ	37 (2002)
			4 October 2004	9 June 2006		Gyurcsány I MSZP–SZDSZ
5		József Petrétei (1958–)	4 October 2004	9 June 2006	Independent

Ministers of justice and law enforcement (2006–2010)

Hungarian Republic (2006–2010)

Parties   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		József Petrétei (1958–)	9 June 2006	31 May 2007	Independent	Gyurcsány II MSZP–SZDSZ	38 (2006)
2		Albert Takács (1955–)	31 May 2007	17 February 2008	Independent
3		Tibor Draskovics (1955–)	17 February 2008	14 April 2009	Independent
			14 April 2009	14 December 2009		Bajnai MSZP
4		Imre Forgács (1949–2022)	14 December 2009	29 May 2010	Independent

Ministers of public administration and justice (2010–2014)

Hungarian Republic / Hungary (2010–2014)

Parties   Fidesz

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		Tibor Navracsics (1966–)	29 May 2010	6 June 2014	Fidesz	Orbán II Fidesz–KDNP	39 (2010)

Ministers of justice (2014–present)

Hungary (2014–present)

Parties   Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political party	Cabinet	Assembly (Election)
1		László Trócsányi (1956–)	6 June 2014	18 May 2018	Independent	Orbán III Fidesz–KDNP	40 (2014)
			18 May 2018	30 June 2019		Orbán IV Fidesz–KDNP	41 (2018)
2		Judit Varga (1980–)	12 July 2019	24 May 2022	Fidesz
			24 May 2022	31 August 2023		Orbán V Fidesz–KDNP	42 (2022)
3		Tuzson Bence (1972–)	1 August 2023	Incumbent	Independent

See also

• List of heads of state of Hungary
• List of prime ministers of Hungary
• Politics of Hungary

Cabinet ministers

• Minister of Agriculture (Hungary)
• Minister of Civilian Intelligence Services (Hungary)
• Minister of Croatian Affairs of Hungary
• Minister of Defence (Hungary)
• Minister of Education (Hungary)
• Minister of Finance (Hungary)
• Minister of Foreign Affairs (Hungary)
• Minister of the Interior (Hungary)
• Minister of Public Works and Transport (Hungary)