Lajos Batthyány by
Miklós Barabás, 1848. He was appointed as Hungary's first Prime Minister. The longest-serving prime minister is incumbent office-holder
Viktor Orbán, who held the position from 6 July 1998 to 27 May 2002 and from 29 May 2010 until present. He surpassed
Kálmán Tisza as the longest-serving prime minister on 30 November 2020, with (if the years are counted cumulatively) a total of 19 years' service as of 2025.
Palatine of Hungary The
palatine (, later '
, , , later: ', ) was the highest dignitary in the
Kingdom of Hungary after the
king (a kind of powerful
Prime Minister and supreme judge) from the kingdom's rise up to 1848/1918. Initially, he was the representative of the king; later, the vice-regent (
viceroy). In the early centuries of the kingdom, he was appointed by the king, later elected by the
Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary. After the
Habsburgs solidified their hold of Hungary, the dignity became an appointed position once again. Finally, it became hereditary in a cadet (junior) branch of the Habsburg dynasty after
King Francis appointed his brother
Joseph.
Creation of the position During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the revolutionaries wanted the creation of a Hungarian cabinet which would be independent from the
Austrian Empire and the Buda Chancellery (which was an office of the imperial governor-general). One of the
12 points said:
2. A responsible government in Buda-Pest. Ferdinand V appointed Count
Lajos Batthyány for the position of prime minister of Hungary on 17 March 1848. The government was called
ministry, different from the current acceptance. The ministries were called
departments. The position was vacant after the defeat of the freedom fight. ==See also==