Péter Polt (born 6 September 1955) is a Hungarian
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
who has been serving as the president of the
Constitutional Court of Hungary
The Constitutional Court of Hungary () is a special court of Hungary, making judicial review of the acts of the Parliament of Hungary. The official seat of the Constitutional Court is Budapest. Until 2012 the seat was Esztergom.
The Constituti ...
since 2025. He was the
Chief Prosecutor of Hungary from 2000 until 2006 and between 2010 and 2025. He is one of the founders of
Fidesz
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal.
Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...
.
Biography
He finished his secondary studies at the Veres Pálné Grammar School in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. He graduated from the
Faculty of Law
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...
of the
Eötvös Loránd University
Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...
in 1980. Besides that he participated in postgraduate courses in the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...
and the
Hague Academy of International Law
The Hague Academy of International Law () is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taught in English and French and, except for External ...
. He worked for the National Institute of Criminology and Forensic. He became an assistant lecturer in the ELTE Department of Criminal Law in 1983. He was promoted to adjunct in 1985. He worked as a lawyer between 1985 and 1995 after completing the professional examination in 1992. He served as an advisor for the Ministry of Justice from 1990 to 1995. He received
Ph.D from the
Pázmány Péter Catholic University
Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE) ( (''PPKE'')) is a private university in and near Budapest, Hungary, belonging to the Catholic Church in Hungary, Catholic Church and recognized by the state. While PPKE takes its name after an insti ...
in 2010.
Polt joined
Fidesz
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal.
Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...
in 1993. He was a parliamentary candidate during the
1994 general election but did not secure a mandate.
He was appointed general deputy of
Katalin Gönczöl, the
Ombudsman
An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
for Civil Rights in 1995. As a result, he left the Fidesz party. In 2000 he was elected Chief Prosecutor by the
National Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly ( ) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to four-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-proportional representation: a mixed-member m ...
, replacing
Kálmán Györgyi. During his 6-year term he has been criticized several times. His response to the interpellations were repeatedly voted down in the plenary sessions. He was replaced by
Tamás Kovács in 2006. After that he became Head of the Criminal Affairs Department of the General Prosecutor's Office.
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Pál Schmitt
Pál Schmitt (; born 1942) is a Hungarian Olympic fencer and politician who served as President of Hungary from 2010 until his resignation in 2012, following his academic misconduct controversy.
Schmitt was a successful fencer in his ...
nominated Polt to the position of Chief Prosecutor in 2010. The Fidesz-
KDNP
The Christian Democratic People's Party (, , KDNP ) is a right-wing Christian democratic political party in Hungary. It is officially a coalition partner of the ruling party, Fidesz, but is mostly considered a satellite party of Fidesz. The party ...
parliamentary majority elected him for a 9-year term under the new rules. In 2011 Polt was elected Chairman of an organisation of
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
chief prosecutors. Polt told MTI over the phone that the organisation would provide recommendations to European prosecution offices about what priorities to pursue. He said another aim of the lobby group, set up four years ago, was to debate European issues affecting prosecutors.
Péter Polt was re-elected as Chief Prosecutor for another 9-year term by the Fidesz supermajority of the National Assembly on 4 November 2019. He received 134 votes, 24 MPs voted against him, and there were three invalid votes.
References
Sources
*''MTI Ki Kicsoda 2006'',
Magyar Távirati Iroda
MTI (''Magyar Távirati Iroda'', literally "Hungarian Telegraphic Office") is a Hungarian news agency. One of the oldest news agencies in the world, it was founded in 1880.
MTI was owned by MTI Rt., founded by the Parliament. The members of th ...
, Budapest, 2005, p. 1380.
Polt Péter adatlapja az ELTE ÁJK honlapjánÉletrajz a Veres Pálné Gimnázium honlapján
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polt, Peter
1955 births
Living people
Ombudsmen
Hungarian jurists
Academic staff of Eötvös Loránd University
Fidesz politicians