The President of the Republic, elected by the National Assembly every 5 years, has a largely ceremonial role, but powers also include appointing the prime minister. The prime minister selects cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings and must be formally approved by the president. The unicameral, 386-member National Assembly is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. A party must win at least 5% of the national vote to form a parliamentary faction. National parliamentary elections are held every 4 years (the last in April 2002). A 15-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality.

Principal Government Officials
President–Ferenc Madl
Prime Minister–Ferenc Gyurscany (MSZP)
Minister of Foreign Affairs–Ferenc Somogyi
Ambassador to the United States–Andras Simonyi
Ambassador to the United Nations–Laszlo Molnar