The Parliament of Hungary elected former Chief Justice András Baka as the new president of the country on Tuesday. His candidacy was supported by 140 deputies, while six parliamentarians voted against. Baka is well-known in legal circles across Europe. From 1991 to 2008, he served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights, and then he headed the Supreme Court of Hungary. However, in 2012, he was prematurely removed from office after publicly criticizing the judicial reform of Viktor Orbán's government. At that time, the authorities lowered the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 62 years, and Baka described the events as a "purge of the judiciary." Baka's election became one of the first notable personnel decisions following the change of power in the country. The new Prime Minister Péter Madár previously stated that he intends to carry out large-scale state reforms, including amending the constitution. Initially, Madár proposed to nominate the legendary chess player Judit Polgár for the presidency, but she declined. After that, the Prime Minister faced criticism for not organizing the promised public discussion of the candidacy. According to the head of government, the new president will hold the position only until the new constitution is prepared. It is expected that the work on the new fundamental law of the country will take from one to one and a half years, and the discussion of the document with public participation should begin next month. The need for new elections arose after amendments to the Constitution were adopted in July, prematurely ending the term of the previous president, Tamás Sulyok. These changes were initiated by the ruling party "Tisza," which came to power after winning the elections. Thus, the election of András Baka became part of broader political changes in Hungary, where the new leadership declares its intention to reform state institutions and adopt a new constitution.