Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok stepped down on Sunday evening after accepting to leave office following a constitutional amendment by the ruling Tisza party. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced he intends to offer the presidency to Judit Polgár, a grandmaster widely recognized as the strongest female chess player in history, reports infohub.kz.
Sulyok signed the constitutional amendments passed by parliament last week. According to the document, the presidential term ends prematurely due to "a serious loss of confidence." Parliament also removed the head of the Constitutional Court and banned lawmakers who have served three terms from running again—a move affecting more than half of the faction of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party.
Magyar had repeatedly accused Sulyok of loyalty to Orbán and demanded his resignation. Earlier, the president said he would not step down voluntarily before his five-year term ended, but late last week he signed the amendments, accusing the new government of violating the rule of law. Sulyok called the constitutional change "a devastating moment for Hungarian constitutional democracy," noting that "key principles of a free society were trampled for the sake of gaining political power."
Sulyok had five days to sign the amendments—otherwise he faced a constitutional crisis and impeachment. Until a new president is appointed (within 30 days), Speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer will serve as acting head of state.
Hungary is a parliamentary republic: a constitutional majority (133 of 199 deputies) can change the constitution at will. In April's elections, Magyar's Tisza party won 141 seats. The president's powers are mostly ceremonial, but he can return bills to parliament or send them to the Constitutional Court, which was appointed during Orbán's tenure.
Sulyok became president in 2024 after Katalin Novák resigned amid a scandal over a pardon granted to a man convicted of covering up child sexual abuse. Orbán's critics have accused him of systematically rewriting laws to extend his grip on power and entrench allies in key posts.
On Monday, Magyar announced he would offer the presidency to Judit Polgár. "Our country needs unity, peace, and a president that all Hungarians can be proud of," the prime minister wrote on social media. He added that he would meet with Polgár and ask for her consent. "The name Judit Polgár is inextricably linked with talent and dedication. As the most successful female chess player, she topped the world rankings for 26 years and was among the top ten players globally," Magyar said.
Polgár, who turns 50 on July 23, is considered the strongest female chess player in history, with a rating exceeding 2700. She started playing at age five, became a grandmaster at 15—breaking Bobby Fischer's record—and regularly competed in men's tournaments. In 2002, she defeated Garry Kasparov (who had earlier said "chess is not suitable for women"), and in 1998, she beat Anatoly Karpov. She retired in 2014 and later headed Hungary's national chess team.