The Minister of the Living Environment (Hungarian: Élő környezetért felelős minisztére, EKFM) is a member of the Hungarian cabinet. The position has undergone various iterations over the years since its creation in 1987 as the Minister of the Environment and Water Management. The current iteration was created in 2026 under the Magyar Government, under which it assumes responibilites similar to that of its predecessors.
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History
The environment and water portfolios have previously existed under various cabinet positions from 1987 to 2010. Between 1990 and 2002, the water functions were under the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Water; environmental responsibilities continued under the Ministry for Environment Protection, then, from October 1990 to 1998, as the Ministry of Environment and Regional Development, and then, from 1998 to 2002, once again as the Ministry of Environment Protection.
In April 1988, the Ministry of Environment and Water was established through a merger of the National Water Bureau and the National Environment and Nature Protection Office. In July 1990, the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Water assumed the responsibility of water affairs, taking it from the Ministry of Environment and Water, which changed its name to the Ministry for Environment Protection and kept that name for several months. It later became known as the Ministry of Environment and Regional Development. In 1998 the Ministry of Environment Protection was established after another reorganization occurred in the governmental ministries.
In 2002, the responsibility of water affairs was transferred from the Ministry for Transport, Communication and Water to the Ministry of Environment Protection, which again became the Ministry of Environment and Water. The ministry was abolished again following the 2010 parliamentary election upon the return of Viktor Orbán as Prime Minister, and responsibities were handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Upon the election of Péter Magyar following the 2026 parliamentary election, it was announced that the position would be reconstituted as its own independent portfolio as the Minister of the Living Environment, carving out part of the mandate of the Ministry of Energy; Former director of the Nyíregyháza Zoo, László Gajdos, was appointed to the position.
List of ministers
Minister of the Environment and Water Management (1987-1990)
Parties
MSZMP
MSZP
Parties
MSZP
Minister of the Environment and Regional Development (1990-1993)
Parties
MDF
Minister of the Environment and Water (1993-1994)
Parties
MDF
Minister of the Environment and Regional Development (1994-1998)
Parties
MSZP
Minister of the Environment (1998-2002)
Parties
FKgP
Minister of the Environment and Water (2002-2010)
Parties
MSZP
SZDSZ
Independent
Minister of the Living Environment (2026-present)
Parties
TISZA