The President nominated Péter Fejes, a former deputy chief prosecutor of Vas County, as Prosecutor General on Monday. Péter Fejes is a lawyer, university lecturer, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences public body, who retired in 2025.
András Baka stressed that Péter Fejes’s professional career, leadership experience, and moral integrity make him fit to restore the impartial, law-bound operation of the prosecution service and set the organisation on the path to regaining public trust. “The decision of the National Assembly is not merely about filling a position — it is a decision about who will be entrusted with the professional and moral renewal of the prosecution service. For this task, I consider Péter Fejes to be the right person,” said the head of state.
He emphasised that the current situation presents a historic opportunity to draft a new constitution, which in itself is not yet a guarantee of establishing the rule of law, since that can only function if institutions and their leaders uphold its principles.
He added that one of the fundamental institutions of the rule of law enshrined in the constitution is an independent prosecution service, subordinate to the law and professional vocation, and that the first step toward this is nominating Péter Fejes as a new candidate for the position of Prosecutor General.
“Péter Fejes has devoted his entire professional life to the prosecutorial vocation and possesses the experience, independence, and personal integrity that are needed to renew the prosecution service,” said András Baka.
The position of Prosecutor General has been vacant for a month and a half, and the post of Deputy Prosecutor General for Criminal Matters has been unfilled for more than a year. In the meantime, the professional and public standing of the prosecution service has reached an all-time low, serious integrity, professional, and ethical issues have come to light, distrust and uncertainty have developed within the organisation, and public confidence has been shaken, the President said.
Restoring the authority of the prosecution service is not an internal organisational matter — it speaks to the authority of the state and equality before the law. It speaks to whether members of the community can trust that the law will be applied consistently.
Confidence cannot be restored by a single appointment alone; what is needed are clear and transparent decisions, immediate measures, long-term institution-building, and the cooperation of the prosecutorial corps — he stressed, adding that the direction and credibility of change, however, are determined by the person at the helm.
The head of state said that the consultations preceding the nomination had reinforced his conviction that the organisation must be led by someone who has a comprehensive understanding of its professional and human relations, is capable of confronting its shortcomings, and has the integrity to defend everything of value in the prosecutorial profession.
He emphasised that Péter Fejes has no party affiliation and has not taken part in the substantive assessment of any case that raises political concerns. His appointment as chief prosecutor was terminated by the decision of Péter Polt, the Prosecutor General, citing a loss of confidence, and his prosecutorial service had to come to an end last November as a result of age restrictions, he outlined.
His career shows that he has been guided not by political loyalty, but by the law and the rules of his profession. He knows the organisation’s values and its faults, and he has the resolve to preserve the former and consistently confront the latter, the President of the Republic said.
Péter Fejes emphasised that his primary goal is to restore traditional values and self-respect within the prosecutorial organisation, to regain public esteem, and to assert professionalism and freedom from political influence.
Artificial intelligence was used for the translation of parts of the original Hungarian text.