From Ousted Chief Justice to President: The Remarkable Political Resurrection of András Baka

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 2011, András Baka was unceremoniously removed as Hungary's Supreme Court president through a constitutional maneuver. Fifteen years later, the legal scholar and former European Court of Human Rights judge has returned to the pinnacle of power, elected as the eighth president of Hungary following a dramatic political shift.

Born in Budapest in 1952, András Baka built a career defined by legal expertise rather than partisan affiliation. After earning his law degree in 1978, he spent nearly two decades as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights starting in 1991. His return to domestic politics in 2009 as president of the Supreme Court placed him in the crosshairs of the government led by Viktor Orbán. In 2011, the Fidesz party used its parliamentary supermajority to rename the court the Curia, a structural change explicitly designed to terminate Baka's tenure three years early.

The European Court of Human Rights eventually ruled in 2014 that Baka’s removal was unlawful, citing violations of his right to a fair trial and freedom of expression. The court concluded that his dismissal was a direct response to his public criticism of the government, marking a significant moment in the erosion of democratic norms under the Orbán administration. Despite the ruling, the government ignored the findings, as the court lacked the enforcement power to compel his reinstatement.

Baka’s path to the presidency began in August 2026, following the removal of his predecessor, Tamás Sulyok, by the newly empowered Tisza Party. Prime Minister Péter Magyar, seeking to dismantle the legacy of the previous regime, championed Baka as a symbol of institutional integrity. Baka, who remains a political independent, was elected by the National Assembly on 11 August 2026 and assumed office on 19 August. While the presidency remains a largely ceremonial role, his election is viewed by many, including Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony, as a symbolic bookend to the era of consolidated rule that began with his firing in 2011.

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