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Biography
Mátyás Szűrös (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈmaːcaːʃ ˈsyːrøʃ]; born September 11, 1933 in Püspökladány) is a Hungarian politician. He served as provisional President of the Republic from October 23, 1989 to May 2, 1990. His presidency occurred during Hungary's transition from Communism to democratic government.
Szűrös served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary from March 1989 to May 1990. In the fall of 1989, as part of an agreement between the Communists and the opposition to establish multiparty democracy, the 1949 Constitution was almost completely rewritten to remove its Communist character. The Presidential Council was dissolved, and under the Constitution Szűrös became provisional president until the election. Soon after taking office on October 23, he made the official proclamation that Hungary had removed the "People's Republic" from its constitutional name and so it became Hungary.
He remained in parliament until 2002 as a member of the Hungarian Socialist Party, often voting against the party consensus. He quit the party in 2002, joined the newly established New Left Party and ran as their prime minister candidate at the parliamentary elections, but the party only got 0.1% of the popular votes. In 2003, he joined the Social Democratic Party and was later elected as the chairman of the party. He resigned his position in 2005.