Chief of General Staff (Hungary)
Highest ranking military officer in Hungary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chief of General Staff (Hungarian: Honvéd Vezérkar főnöke; between 2019 and 2022: Commander of the Hungarian Defense Forces (Hungarian: a Magyar Honvédség Parancsnoka)) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Hungarian Defence Forces and is responsible for maintaining control over the service branches.
| Chief of General Staff | |
|---|---|
| Honvéd Vezérkar főnöke | |
 | |
| Hungarian Defence Forces | |
| Type | Chief of defence |
| Member of | Hungarian Defence Forces Command |
| Reports to | Minister of Defence |
| Seat | Budapest |
| Nominator | Minister of Defence |
| Appointer | President of Hungary |
| Precursor | Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff |
| Formation | 4 January 1922 |
| First holder | Viktor Lorx |
| Deputy | Deputy Chief of General Staff |
| Website | Official website |
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He is responsible for development, organisation, and equipping, training and functioning of the first strategic echelon (stand-by forces) and the other strategic echelon (reserve).[1] The Defence Forces Command coordinates the tasks of the armed forces of the Republic of Hungary, develops recommendations for the planning, organisation and supervision of the Ministry's military duties, and for the development of combat capability.[2]
Since 2007, the Hungarian Defence Forces is under a unified command structure. The Ministry of Defence maintains the political and civilian control of the military.
On 1 January 2019, the General Staff and the Joint Forces Command were merged to create the Defence Forces Command.[3] On 1 January 2023 it was renamed to General Staff.
The current chief of general staff is Gábor Böröndi.[4]
List of officeholders
Royal Hungarian Army (1922−1945)
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant general Viktor Lorx (1873–1922) | 4 January 1922 | 29 June 1922 † | 176 days | – | |
| 2 | Cavalry general Kocsárd Janky (1868–1954) | 25 October 1922 | 26 May 1930 | 7 years, 331 days | – | |
| 3 | Infantry general Vilmos Rőder (1881–1969) | 26 May 1930 | 16 January 1935 | 4 years, 235 days | – | |
| 4 | Infantry general József Somkuthy (1883–1961) | 16 January 1935 | 5 September 1936 | 1 year, 233 days | – | |
| 5 | Lieutenant general Jenő Rátz (1882–1949) | 5 September 1936 | 24 May 1938 | 1 year, 261 days | – | |
| 6 | Lieutenant general Lajos Keresztes-Fischer (1884–1948) | 24 May 1938 | 29 September 1938 | 128 days | – | |
| 7 | General Henrik Werth (1881–1952) | 29 September 1938 | 4 September 1941 | 2 years, 340 days | – | |
| 8 | Colonel general Ferenc Szombathelyi (1887–1946) | 4 September 1941 | 19 April 1944 | 2 years, 228 days | – | |
| 9 | Colonel general János Vörös (1891–1968) | 10 May 1944 | 16 October 1944 | 159 days | – | |
| 10 | Colonel general Károly Beregfy (1888–1946) | 16 October 1944 | 30 April 1945 | 196 days | – |
![Viktor Lorx [hu]](#/media/File:Lorx_Viktor.jpg)
Hungarian People's Army (1945−1990)
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel general János Vörös (1891–1968) | 15 November 1945 | 1 September 1946 | 290 days | – | |
| Vacant 1946–1948 | ||||||
| 2 | Lieutenant general László Sólyom (1908–1950) | 1948 | 20 May 1950 | 1–2 years | – | |
| 3 | Lieutenant general István Bata (1910–1982) | 20 May 1950 | 10 August 1953 | 3 years, 82 days | – | |
| 4 | Major general Béla Székely | 11 August 1953 | 22 November 1954 | 1 year, 103 days | – | |
| 5 | Major general Lajos Tóth (1922–2012) | 22 November 1954 | October 1956 | 1 year, 10 months | – | |
| 6 | Major general István Kovács (1911–2011) | October 1956 | November 1956 | 1 month | – | |
| 7 | Major general László Hegyi | November 1956 | 1957 | 0–1 years | – | |
| 8 | Lieutenant general Ferenc Ugrai (1922–2006) | 1957 | 1963 | 5–6 years | [5] | |
| 9 | Lieutenant general Károly Csémi (1922–1992) | 1963 | 19 January 1973 | 9–10 years | [5][6] | |
| 10 | Colonel general István Oláh (1926–1985) | 19 January 1973 | 6 December 1984 | 11 years, 322 days | [7] | |
| 11 | Lieutenant general József Pacsek (1928–2009) | 6 December 1984 | 1 December 1989 | 4 years, 360 days | [8] | |
| 12 | Lieutenant general László Borsits (born 1939) | 1 December 1989 | 1 March 1990 | 90 days | [9] | |
![László Sólyom [hu]](#/media/File:No_image.png)
Honvédség (1990−present)
The military is called Magyar Honvédség since the end of communism in Hungary.[10]
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant general László Borsits (born 1939) | 1 March 1990 | 8 September 1991 | 1 year, 191 days | [11][12] | |
| 2 | Colonel general János Deák | 9 September 1991 | 31 October 1994 | 3 years, 52 days | [13] | |
| 3 | Lieutenant general Sándor Németh | 1 November 1994 | 5 June 1996 | 1 year, 217 days | [14] | |
| 4 | Lieutenant general Ferenc Végh (born 1948) | 6 June 1996 | 31 July 1999 | 3 years, 56 days | [15][16] | |
| 5 | Colonel general Lajos Fodor (born 1947) | 1 August 1999 | 28 February 2003 | 3 years, 211 days | [17][18] [19] | |
| 6 | Lieutenant general Zoltán Szenes (born 1951) | 1 March 2003 | 31 January 2005 | 1 year, 336 days | [20] | |
| 7 | Colonel general András Havril (born 1951) | 1 February 2005 | 15 January 2009 | 3 years, 349 days | [21][22] | |
| 8 | Colonel general László Tömböl (born 1957) | 16 January 2009 | 5 June 2010 | 1 year, 140 days | [22][23] | |
| 9 | Colonel general Tibor Benkő (born 1957) | 6 June 2010 | 16 May 2018 | 7 years, 344 days | [24] | |
| 10 | Colonel general Ferenc Korom (born 1964) | 16 May 2018 | 1 June 2021 | 3 years, 16 days | [25] | |
| 11 | Lieutenant general Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi (born 1973) | 3 June 2021 | 27 April 2023 | 1 year, 328 days | [26] | |
| 12 | Colonel general Gábor Böröndi (born 1971) | 27 April 2023 | Incumbent | 3 years, 28 days | [27] |
![László Tömböl [hu]](#/media/File:Laszlo_Tombol_(cropped).jpg)
