Hungary’s Archive Chief Offers Resignation Following Database Errors

Gergő Bendegúz Cseh, director-general of Hungary’s Historical Archives of the State Security Services, has announced his intention to resign after 164 individuals were incorrectly identified as communist-era secret police collaborators. The errors occurred during the processing of digital records for a new database, which was launched on November 4 to provide public access to approximately 60,000 names from state security files. Cseh stated that the institution’s leadership must accept responsibility for the inaccuracies, which resulted from a technical failure to distinguish between informants and those who were under surveillance.

Among those misidentified was Sándor Lezsák, a former deputy speaker of parliament and co-founder of the Hungarian Democratic Forum. Following the disclosure, Prime Minister Péter Magyar issued a public apology to Lezsák, while the archive has since corrected the database entries. The incident has sparked significant political tension, with opposition figures calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister and other officials, while the Fidesz and KDNP parties have requested that the website be taken offline. Parliament is expected to determine whether Cseh will remain in his position.