Ferenc Gyurcsány

prime minister of Hungary

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

Ferenc Gyurcsány served as the prime minister of Hungary from late 2004 until 2009. He was a member of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP) and led a coalition with the Alliance of Free Democrats. Gyurcsány's premiership began after the resignation of Peter Medgyessy.

His time in office was marked by economic challenges and a significant political scandal. In 2006, a leaked recording of a private speech revealed Gyurcsány admitting to his party's failure to address Hungary's economic problems and their dishonesty in doing so. This led to widespread protests. By 2008, Hungary's economy was on the brink of collapse, and Gyurcsány resigned in 2009. The MSzP was subsequently voted out of power in the 2010 elections.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Hungary
Political developments
…succeeded in late 2004 by Ferenc Gyurcsány, a onetime party bureaucrat who made a fortune in the free-for-all business activities in the 1990s, including profiteering from the privatization of Hungarian state assets. In elections in 2006, the Gyurcsány-led Socialist–Free Democrats coalition became the first government to win consecutive terms since…
Read More
…succeeded in late 2004 by Ferenc Gyurcsány, a onetime party bureaucrat who made a fortune in the free-for-all business activities in the 1990s, including profiteering from the privatization of Hungarian state assets. In elections in 2006, the Gyurcsány-led Socialist–Free Democrats coalition became the first government to win consecutive terms since…
Read More

Hungarian Socialist Party
…“secret speech” by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány to MSzP in which he admitted to the party’s failure to address the country’s economic problems and to its mendacity in process. After the Hungarian economy was perched on the brink of disaster in 2008, Gyurcsány resigned in 2009, and the MSzP was…
Read More
…“secret speech” by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány to MSzP in which he admitted to the party’s failure to address the country’s economic problems and to its mendacity in process. After the Hungarian economy was perched on the brink of disaster in 2008, Gyurcsány resigned in 2009, and the MSzP was…
Read More