Hungary’s Incoming Government Promises to Open Communist-Era Secret Police Archives

Hungary’s next government has pledged to open the historical archives of the communist-era secret police, in what would be a significant break from decades of official secrecy maintained under Viktor Orbán.

According to Reuters, Bálint Ruff, nominated by prime minister-elect Péter Magyar to run the prime minister’s office, told news site Valasz Online that opening the archives would be his “number one task”. “This is a task for historians, but I will be able to ensure that the next government provides a framework for this, that is, that it will provide the opportunity to research without political pressure,” Ruff said.

Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party defeated Orbán’s Fidesz in the April 12 parliamentary election on pledges to return Hungary to a pro-European course and unlock billions of euros in frozen EU funding. Magyar is expected to be sworn in as prime minister on May 9.

Hungary remains one of the few post-communist countries in Central Europe that has never officially revealed the names of secret police collaborators from the Soviet era. Unlike Poland or the Czech Republic, which opened their archives decades ago, Hungary has allowed only individuals to access their own files — not materials about others, including past informants. Historian Krisztián Ungváry warned in a 2023 lecture that as long as the archives remain closed, public figures with compromising files remain permanently vulnerable to blackmail by those with access to that information.

Suspicions have long circulated that the continued secrecy served political interests, shielding figures from scrutiny over potential past collaboration. The Orbán government never moved to change the access rules during its 15 years in power.

Ruff also said he would establish an office to recover funds lost to corruption and would oversee EU affairs to help Magyar personally monitor efforts to unfreeze EU funding.