Fidesz party chairman Viktor Orban (above right) and KDNP party chairman Dr. Zsolt Semjen (above left) jointly submitted a bill on 10 May 2014 that provides for the third Orban government, that is, prime minister Viktor Orban and his cabinet, to determine the structure, purpose, and jurisdiction of government ministries, rather than the National Assembly.
Viktor Orban was elected prime minister on Saturday, 10 May 2014. The vote took place along party lines with 130 votes in support of the nomination and 57 against.
While the proposed law names the ministries of the upcoming 2014-2018 government, their respective roles and responsibilities have yet to be defined. The ministers themselves will only be announced the week after Hungary’s May 25 European Parliament elections. Until then the Hungarian government is to operate in “caretaker” mode.
The bill provides for the following:
- The Ministry of Rural Development is to be renamed the Ministry of Agriculture
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to be renamed the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs
- The Ministry of Justice and Public Administration is to be renamed the Ministry of Justice
- The Office of the Prime Minister is to become a ministry unto itself
- The changes will take effect on 6 June 2014
No changes are proposed for the ministries of Interior, Human Resources, National Defense, National Economics, and National Development. The Office of the Prime Minister is to assume responsibility for government procedure and coordinate the activities of the various ministries.
Referenced in this article:
T/106 Magyarország minisztériumainak felsorolásáról, Parlament.hu; submitted 10 May 2014
Prime Minister Orbán re-elected by Parliament, Parlament.hu; 10 May 2014.