# Hungary's parliament opens new term with Ágnes Forsthoffer elected speaker
The National Assembly of Hungary convened for its first sitting after the election on the event date, opening a new parliamentary term with Ágnes Forsthoffer elected speaker in a closed vote.
Forsthoffer won the post decisively, with 193 lawmakers voting in favor and only two against, according to the report. She then took the oath of office and assumed control of proceedings from István Vitányi, the Fidesz politician who had chaired the opening session as the oldest member of parliament.
The selection gives Hungary its second female speaker, a point that underscores the significance of the vote beyond the procedural start of the legislature. The role is one of the most visible posts in the National Assembly and sets the tone for the chamber's organization, debate, and legislative business during the new term.
The inaugural sitting is a formal but important moment in any parliamentary cycle. It marks the transition from the election campaign and coalition maneuvering to the practical business of seating lawmakers, swearing in members, and choosing the officials who will preside over the chamber. In this case, the vote for speaker was the first major test of the new assembly's internal balance.
The margin suggests broad support for Forsthoffer at the outset of the new term. The available report does not give the composition of the vote beyond the total number in favor and against, but the scale of the result indicates that the chamber reached a strong consensus on the opening leadership position.
Vitányi's role in the opening session followed standard parliamentary procedure. As the oldest MP, he presided temporarily until house officers were elected. Once Forsthoffer secured the speakership, she took over the session and completed the transition to the new leadership structure.
The event is notable because it brings a new face to a high office that carries both ceremonial and procedural authority. The speaker is central to the management of debate and the orderly conduct of parliament, and the appointment arrives at a point when the National Assembly is starting the work of the new elected body.
Forsthoffer's election also places her in a small group of women to have held the office. The report identifies her as only the second woman ever to serve as speaker, which gives the appointment broader symbolic weight in a political system where top parliamentary posts have historically been dominated by men.
The assembly's first session is often watched for signs of how the new political arithmetic will work in practice. The report provided here focuses on the leadership vote and does not detail the broader legislative agenda, party alignment, or other officer elections. Even so, the result establishes the chamber's initial leadership and clears the way for the new parliament to begin its work.
The speaker's election is the key institutional step that turns a newly elected legislature into an operating one. In Hungary's case, the process began with the formal opening of the National Assembly and ended with Forsthoffer taking the gavel from the temporary presiding officer, signaling the start of the new parliamentary term.
