BUDAPEST — Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced plans to ask chess grandmaster Judit Polgár to serve as Hungary's president. This nomination follows a parliamentary vote and subsequent signing of a constitutional amendment that ended the term of Tamás Sulyok.

Magyar stated he would meet Polgár on Monday to discuss the presidency. The Prime Minister asked Polgár to serve as president until a new constitution was passed. The appointment of the president must be voted on by parliament, and the presidential term carries a maximum of five years.

"Our country needs unity, peace and a president that all Hungarians can be proud of," Magyar said. "Judit Polgár’s name has been synonymous with talent and perseverance for decades. He added that Polgár's career has always been about achievement. "Personally, I would consider it a tremendous honor if she accepts the invitation.""

Polgár is widely considered the greatest female chess player of all time. She was the top-ranked female chess player for 25 years and retired from professional chess in 2014. Polgár became the youngest grandmaster in the world at age 15, breaking the record set by Bobby Fischer in 1958.

She defeated Garry Kasparov in 2002 and is a five-time Chess Olympiad champion. Polgár helped Hungary win the women’s competition at the 1988 Chess Olympiad alongside her sisters Zsuzsa and Zsófia, and Ildikó Mádl. She became the only woman to surpass the 2700 rating threshold associated with the “Super GM” distinction. Polgár was born in Budapest and will turn 50 in a few days. Her story was featured in the 2026 Netflix documentary Queen of Chess.

Polgár was awarded the Order of Saint Stephen, Hungary’s highest state honor, by President János Áder in August 2015. She was born into a Jewish family whose history was affected by the Holocaust, with several relatives murdered and her paternal grandparents surviving Auschwitz. Her family has maintained close ties to Israel, where her sister Sofia and their parents later settled.

The idea to nominate Polgár was first floated in an open letter signed by 16 prominent Hungarians, including Ernő Rubik. Rubik is the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube.

Magyar’s Tisza party holds a two-thirds majority in Hungary’s parliament. This majority enabled the legislature to back a constitutional amendment that included an immediate end to Sulyok’s term as president. Sulyok had five days to sign off on the constitutional amendment, and he signed the legislation ending his term as president.

Sulyok was the president appointed during former leader Viktor Orbán’s time in power. Magyar repeatedly called on Sulyok to step down, accusing him of being an Orbán "puppet."

"The seventeenth amendment to the Constitution marked a watershed in Hungary's constitutional democracy," Sulyok said. He stated that the amendment had set a dangerous precedent. Sulyok said he signed the law because it met Hungary’s legal requirements, but warned that it had weakened the rule of law.

The constitutional amendment set term limits for lawmakers to 12 years. It also requires Constitutional Court judges to retire at 70. This retirement age requirement forces the Constitutional Court’s current president, Peter Polt, to step down.

Polt is an ally of Viktor Orbán. Parliament Speaker Agnes Forsthoffer would assume the role of interim president from Monday until the next president is chosen.

Human Rights Watch criticized the constitutional changes to oust the president. Orbán criticized the reforms, stating, "Tyranny is no longer a threat but reality." He added, "If this could be done to the President, tomorrow, no one will be safe."

Magyar won a landslide victory in the April election. Since taking office, Magyar and the Tisza party have suspended news broadcasts by public media outlets with ties to Orbán. They also abolished the sovereignty protection office. That office had allowed intelligence services to access information on individuals and organisations without judicial oversight.

The removal of Sulyok and the proposed nomination of Polgár represent a shift in Hungary's political landscape following Magyar's election victory. The constitutional amendments alter the structure of government by imposing term limits and changing the judiciary's composition. The nomination of a non-political figure like Polgár signals an attempt to establish a presidency based on national prestige rather than partisan affiliation.

The process requires parliamentary approval, leveraging the Tisza party's supermajority. The interim leadership by Forsthoffer ensures continuity while the selection process proceeds.