If you are new to this parish, it might be worthwhile unpicking that a little. From 2008 until the 2010 general election, Tamás Székely was Minister of Health in the governments of Ferenc Gyurcsány (Socialist party) and then Gordon Bajnai (in a technocratic government supported by the Socialists). When Fidesz returned to power in 2010, health was subsumed into a superministry that also took in education and social affairs. It was known as the Ministry of National Resources until 2012, and then the Ministry of Human Resources until 2022. From 2022 to 2026, following yet another government reorganization, responsibility for healthcare was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior under the veteran Fidesz government minister and communist-era policeman Sándor Pintér. During all that time, the day-to-day running of the health portfolio was led by a state secretary.
As we report inside, arriving for a meeting of EU employment, social policy, health and consumer protection ministers in Luxembourg in June, Hegedűs noted that the meeting was the first time in 16 years that Hungary had been represented by a minister heading an independent health ministry. No wonder he remarked, “This is a very special day and a real milestone for us.” Hegedűs has an enormous amount on his plate. Anyone who has visited a public hospital in recent years will have seen for themselves the lack of investment in bathrooms, bricks and mortar, and that’s before you get anywhere near specialist equipment or the morale and salaries of doctors and nurses. On the night Tisza won the election, the man who is now the Minister of Health went viral with his jig of joy. He repeated that at the official opening of Parliament. He will need to carry that enthusiasm and energy with him in the years to come.
Another theme we develop is how Hungary continues to punch above its weight in research and innovation. Budapest recently hosted an international gathering at the frontier of quantum science and biology, the 15th International Workshop on Quantum Effects in Biological Systems, at the Faculty of Science of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), for example. A Hungarian firm has developed temperature-controlled specialist pharmaceutical logistics technology for the safe transport of sensitive pharmaceutical products, be they vaccines, biotechnology products, or clinical trial materials. And Semmelweis University has been conducting research into how 3D-printed spinal models could help surgeons better understand highly complex cases and prepare for surgery, as well as help patients understand procedures.
Where Hungary’s commercial size may be less advantageous is in access to cutting-edge medicines. The Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers is calling for urgent policy action as global pharmaceutical pricing tensions, United States pressure and Europe’s own cost-control measures reshape the economics of bringing innovative medicines to smaller markets. The organization warns Hungary is caught in a “double squeeze” that could make early launches of new therapies increasingly unattractive for drug developers. As the glorious language of the King James version of the Gospel of Luke reminds us, “Physician, heal thyself.” It appears Hungary has the desire to do so and no shortage of tasks to work on.
Robin Marshall
Editor-in-chief
This editorial was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of July 17, 2026.
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