The Kossuth Prize ( hu, Kossuth-díj) is a state-sponsored award in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...

. The Prize was established in 1948 (on occasion of the centenary of the March 15th revolution, the day on which it is still handed over every year) by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and group achievements in the fields of science, culture and the arts, as well as in the building of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

in general. In 1950s the award was given to Gabor Bela Fodor for his contributions in the field of Chemistry as the prize was given to selected scientists. Since 1963, the domain was restricted to culture and the arts. Today, it is regarded as the most prestigious cultural award in Hungary, and is awarded by the President. Kossuth-díj 1990

Note: This is not a complete listing.

Recipients

* Aladár Rácz (1948) *

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music ed ...

(1948) * István Csók (1948 and 1952) * Ferenc Erdei (1948 and 1962) *

Milán Füst Milán Füst (17 July 1888, Budapest – 26 July 1967, Budapest) was a Hungary, Hungarian writer, poet and playwright. Biography Early in life, his family lived on Dohány utca in the 7th district of Budapest. In 1908 he met the writer Ernő Os ...

(1948) * Gizi Bajor (1948) *

Pál Turán Pál Turán (; 18 August 1910 – 26 September 1976) also known as Paul Turán, was a Hungarian mathematician who worked primarily in extremal combinatorics. He had a long collaboration with fellow Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős, lasting ...

(1948 and 1952) *

Géza Zemplén Géza Gusztáv Zemplén, Ph.D. (26 October 1883 – 24 July 1956) was a notable Hungarian chemist, organic chemist, professor, and chemistry author. He was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and w ...

(1948) * Béla Balázs (1949) * Jenő Egerváry (1949) * Annie Fischer (1949, 1955, 1965) * József Marek (1949) *

Ferenc Mérei Ferenc Mérei (24 November 1909 – 23 February 1986) was a Hungarian psychologist and educator. Early life Born in Budapest into a bourgeois family, Mérei often spent time in his parents' photography studio at the Garay Bazaar. He did not ...

(1949) * Ági Mészáros (1949, 1954) *

Hilda Gobbi Hilda Emília Gizella Gobbi (6 June 1913 – 13 July 1988) was an award-winning Hungarian actress, known for her portrayals of elderly women. One of her most beloved performances was as Aunt Szabo in the radio soap opera ''The Szabo Family''. ...

(1949) * Józsi Jenő Tersánszky (1949) * Sándor Veress (1949) * Fódor Gábor Bela (1950) * László Kalmár (1950) *

Kálmán Latabár Kálmán Latabár (1902–1970) was a Hungarian comedian and film actor, perhaps the country's most popular comic in the post-war years. "Latyi" reached his peak popularity during the war years and in the early days of Hungarian television, d ...

(1950) * Péter Veres (1950, 1952) * Leó Weiner (1950, 1960) * János Görbe (1951) * László Heller (1951) * László Lajtha (1951) *

Rózsa Péter Rózsa Péter, born Rózsa Politzer, (17 February 1905 – 16 February 1977) was a Hungarian mathematician and logician. She is best known as the "founding mother of recursion theory". Early life and education Péter was born in Budapest, ...

(1951) * Klári Tolnay (1951 and 1952) * Zoltán Földi (1952) * Margit Dajka (1952) *

Sándor Jávorka Sándor Jávorka (12 March 1883 - 28 September 1961) was a Hungarian botanist. His birthplace was Hegybánya, then in the Kingdom of Hungary, now in Slovakia and now called Štiavnické Bane. He died in Budapest. Occasionally he has been referred to ...

(1952) *

Tibor Szele Tibor Szele (Debrecen, 21 June 1918 – Szeged, 5 April 1955) Hungarian mathematician, working in combinatorics and abstract algebra. After graduating at the Debrecen University, he became a researcher at the Szeged University in 1946, then ...

(1952) *

Éva Szörényi Éva Szörényi (Born Elvira Schwáb; May 26, 1917 – December 1, 2009) was a Kossuth Prize-winning actress of the Hungarian National Theatre. Her acting career started in the early 1930s playing leading roles in over 20 motion pictures, a resu ...

(1952) * Margit Dajka (1952) * Miklós Gábor (1953) *

Hanna Honthy Hanna Honthy (born Hajnalka Hügel; 21 February 1893, Budapest – 30 December 1978, Budapest), was a Hungarian opera singer and actress. Career Hügel was born on 21 February 1893, in Budapest. From age 10, she was a ballet student at the Opera ...

(1953) * Ferenc Bessenyei (1953 and 1955) * Andor Ajtay (1954) * Jenő Barcsay (1954) *

Gyula Gózon Gyula Gózon (19 April 1885 – 8 October 1972) was a Hungarian actor and comedian. Life Gyula Gózon was born on 19 April 1885, in Érsekújvár, but grew up in Esztergom. With the mentoring of his brother, he could fulfill his dream of le ...

(1954) * Péter Kuczka (1954) *

Lajos Bárdos Lajos Bárdos (1 October 1899 – 18 November 1986) was a composer, conductor, music theorist, and professor of music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, in Budapest, Hungary, where he had previously studied under Albert Siklós and Zoltán K ...

(1955) *

István Eiben István Eiben (21 December 1902 – 23 October 1958) was a Hungarian cinematographer. Selected filmography * ''Oliver Twist'' (1919) * '' Number 111'' (1919) * '' Hyppolit, the Butler'' (1931) * ''The Old Scoundrel'' (1932) * ''The Verdict of ...

(1955) * Ferenc Ecker (1955) * Zoltán Fábri (1955) * Albert Fonó (1956) *Gyula Kaesz (1956) *

László Ranódy László Ranódy (14 September 1919 – 14 October 1983) was a Hungarian film director. He directed 18 films between 1950 and 1980. His film '' Drama of the Lark'' was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmography * '' Lo ...

(1956) * Jenő Ádám (1957) * Miklós Borsos (1957) *

Manyi Kiss Manyi Kiss (Born Margit Kiss; 12 March 1911 – 24 March 1971) was a Hungarian actress. Career She was born in Magyarlóna, Kolozs County, Hungary ''(now Luna de Sus, Romania)'', to Lajos Kiss and Zsuzsanna Nagy. She acted from 1926 in Cl ...

(1957) * László Németh (1957) *

Mária Sulyok Mária Sulyok (1908–1987) was a Hungarian actress best known for her role in '' A köszívü ember fiai'' (1965) and '' Love, Emilia'' (1968). She was born on 24 April 1908 and died on 20 October 1987 in Budapest, Hungary. Selected filmograph ...

(1957) * László Fejes Tóth (1957) * Mór Korach (1958) * Tátrai Quartet (1958) * Éva Ruttkai (1960) * Leo Weiner (1960) * Iván Berend (1961) *

Tibor Czibere Tibor Czibere (born 16 October 1930) is a former Hungarian engineer and politician, who served as Minister of Education between 1988 and 1989. He is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since 1985. Czibere served as rector of the Un ...

(1962) * István Vas (1962, 1985) * Ákos Császár (1963) * Dénes Kovács (1963) * Robert Ilosfalvy (1965) * Pál Lukács (1965) * László Nagy (1966) * Imre Sinkovits (1966) * Sándor Szokolay (1966) * Irén Psota (1966 and 2007) *

Erzsébet Házy Erzsébet Házy (; 1 October 1929 – 24 November 1982) was a Hungarian operatic soprano. She fascinated the critics (see 'Critics' below) and audience not only with her voice but also with perfect acting and her beauty. She was particularly ...

(1970) * Péter Komlós (1970) * György Kurtág (1973) * Líviusz Gyulai (1973) * Miklós Jancsó (1973), (2006) * Ferenc Sánta (1973) *

Mari Törőcsik Mari Törőcsik (born Marián Törőcsik; 23 November 1935 – 16 April 2021) was a Hungarian stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 170 films from 1956 to 2020. She won the award for Best Actress at the 1976 Cannes Film Festiva ...

(1973, 1999 and 2019) *

Miklós Erdélyi Miklós Erdélyi (9 February 1928 – 1 September 1993) was a Hungarians, Hungarian conductor. Life Miklós Erdélyi was born in Budapest and from 1946-1951 studied at the Budapest Franz Liszt Music Academy with János Ferencsik for conducting, ...

(1975) * Magda Szabó (1978) *

Iván Darvas Iván Darvas (born ''Szilárd Darvas''; 14 June 1925 in Behynce ( hu, Beje, german: Behintz; now part of Tornaľa, Revúca District, Banská Bystrica Region) – 3 June 2007 in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian actor. Early life Born as ...

(1978) *

Erzsébet Galgóczi Erzsébet Galgóczi (27 August 1930 – 20 May 1989) was a Hungarian writer, playwright, and screenwriter. Her work is often described as realist fiction. Personal life Galgóczi attended primary school in Ménfőcsanak, the small village where ...

(1978) * Sándor Sára (1978 and 2018) * Dezső Ránki (1978 and 2008) *

Zoltán Kocsis Zoltán Kocsis (; 30 May 1952 – 6 November 2016) was a Hungarian pianist, conductor and composer. Biography Studies Born in Budapest, he began his musical studies at the age of five and continued them at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in 196 ...

(1978) * János Pilinszky (1980) *

Iván Markó Iván Markó (29 March 1947 – 21 April 2022) was a Hungarian choreographer and ballet dancer. Biography Markó was born in Balassagyarmat. He studied dancing at the Hungarian State Ballet Institute in Budapest. After having graduated in 196 ...

(1983) * László Márkus (1983) * Géza Ottlik (1985) *

András Szőllősy András Szőllősy (; 27 February 1921 in Orăştie – 6 December 2007 in Budapest) was the creator of the Szőllősy index (abbreviated "Sz."), a frequently used index of the works of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Szőllősy studied co ...

(1985) * Dezső Garas (1988) * Iván Mándy (1988) * Miklós Szentkuthy (1988) * Sandor Marai (1989) * György Cserhalmi (1990) * Sándor Csoóri (1990) * Ernő Dohnányi (1990) * Imre Makovecz (1990) *

Ferenc Farkas Ferenc Farkas (; 15 December 1905 – 10 October 2000) was a Hungarian composer. Biography Born into a musical family (his father played the cimbalom and his mother played the piano) in Nagykanizsa, Farkas began his musical studies in Budape ...

(1991) *

István Gaál István Gaál (25 August 1933 – 25 September 2007) was a Hungarian film director, editor and screenwriter. He directed more than 20 films between 1956 and 1996. With '' Falcons'' he won the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival. Se ...

(1991) * Sándor Szabó (1991) * Péter Nádas (1992) * István Ágh (1992) * Sándor Kányádi (1993) *

Sándor Reisenbüchler Sándor Reisenbüchler (February 16, 1935, Budapest – April 1, 2004, Budapest) was a Hungarian animated film director and graphic artist. He took a degree in directing of films from the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest. He was worki ...

(1993) * Ferenc Ban (1994) * György Faludy (1994) * Tamás Lossonczy (1994) * Adrienne Jancsó (1995) * Péter Esterházy (1996) * József Király (1996) * György Petri (1996) *

András Schiff Sir András Schiff (; born 21 December 1953) is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Mu ...

(1996) * Bartók String Quartet (1997) * Péter Gothár (1997) *

Jenő Jandó Jenő Jandó (; born 1 February 1952) is a Hungarian pianist and Professor of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. Background and education Jandó studied piano at the Liszt Academy with Katalin Nemes and Pál Kadosa, la ...

(1997) *

Imre Kertész Imre Kertész (; 9 November 192931 March 2016) was a Hungarian author and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history". He was ...

(1997) * Ferenc Zenthe (1997) * Éva Marton (1997) * Géza Hofi (1998) * Györgyi Szakács (1998) * Dezső Tandori (1998) * József Gregor (1999) * János Kass (1999) *

Márta Sebestyén Márta Sebestyén (; born 19 August 1957) is a Hungarian folk vocalist, composer and actress. Early life Sebestyén was born in Budapest, Hungary. Her mother is a composer, and was a music student of Zoltán Kodály. Her father was an econo ...

(1999) * Károly Eperjes (1999) * Péter Korniss (1999) * József Soproni (1999) *

Lívia Gyarmathy Lívia Gyarmathy (8 January 1932 – 25 May 2022) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter.Miklós Kocsár (2000) * Gáspár Nagy (2000) * Géza Böszörményi (2000) * János Bródy (2000) * Enikő Eszenyi (2001) *

Zoltán Jeney Zoltán Jeney (4 March 1943 – 28 October 2019) was a Hungarian composer. Jeney was born in Szolnok Hungary. He first studied piano and attended Pongrácz's composition classes at the Debrecen Secondary Music School, later continuing composit ...

(2001) * Margit Bara (2002) *

Péter Eötvös Péter Eötvös ( hu, Eötvös Péter, ; born 2 January 1944) is a Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher. Eötvös was born in Székelyudvarhely, Transylvania, then part of Hungary, now Romania. He studied composition in Budapest and Colog ...

(2002) *

El Kazovsky El Kazovsky (July 13, 1948 – July 21, 2008) was a Russian-born Hungary, Hungarian Painting, painter, performer, poet and costume designer who was one of the leading Hungarian painters of his time. Personal life El Kazovsky was born under the ...

(2002) * Aladár Pege (2002) * András Bálint (2003) * Ádám Bodor (2003) *

Éva Janikovszky Éva Janikovszky (April 23, 1926 in Szeged – July 14, 2003 in Budapest) was a Hungarian writer. She wrote novels for both children and adults, but she is primarily known for her children's books, translated into 35 languages. Her first book ...

(2003) * György Ligeti (2003) * László Marton (2003) *

Béla Tarr Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film ''Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brief period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling everyday stories about ordin ...

(2003) * Amadinda Percussion Group (2004) *

Gergely Bogányi Gergely Bogányi (born 4 January 1974) is a Hungarian pianist. Coming from a musical family, Bogányi is one of the youngest pianists to have won the Kossuth Prize, becoming one of the leading pianists of his generation. Education Bogányi w ...

(2004) * Líviusz Gyulai (2004) * László Krasznahorkai (2004) * Andrea Rost (2004) *

Gyula Bodrogi Gyula Bodrogi (born 15 April 1934) is a Hungarian television and film actor. Selected filmography * ''Sleepless Years'' (1959) * ''Cantata'' (1963) * '' Twenty Hours'' (1965) * ''The Testament of Aga Koppanyi'' (1967) * ''Irány Mexikó!'' ...

(2005) *

(2005) * György Szomjas (2005) * Pál Závada (2005) * Eszter Csákányi (2006) * Iván Fischer (2006) * János Herskó (2006) *

János Kulka János Kulka may refer to: * János Kulka (conductor) János Kulka (11 December 1929 – 18 October 2001) was a Hungarian conductor and composer. Career Kulka studied in Budapest, where he was born. He was solo repetiteur and later con ...

(2006) * György Spiró (2006) *

Erzsébet Szőnyi Erzsébet Szőnyi (25 April 1924 – 28 December 2019), also Erzsébet Szilágyi, was a Hungarian composer and music teacher. Her works encompass symphonic compositions, chamber music works, art songs, and oratorios. She also wrote numerous sta ...

(2006) * Zorán Sztevanovity (2006) * Nelly Vágó (2006) *

László Gálffi László Gálffi (born 16 November 1952) is a Hungarian actor. He was born in Budapest. One of his better known roles is that of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Tony Palmer's epic film production of '' Wagner'', in which Galffi acted alongside ...

(2007) *

Gábor Görgey Gábor Görgey (born ''Artúr Görgey''; 22 November 1929 – 11 April 2022) was a Hungarian writer, poet, director and politician, who served as Minister of Culture between 2002 and 2003. He was a descendant of the freedom fighter General A ...

(2007) * András Kern (2007) * Ferenc Kósa (2007) * András Ligeti (2007) * Miklós Perényi (2007) *

Ernő Rubik Ernő Rubik (; born 13 July 1944) commonly known by his nickname, "Little Man", is a Hungarian inventor, architect and professor of architecture. He is best known for the invention of mechanical puzzles including the Rubik's Cube (1974), Rubik ...

(2007) *

Judit Elek Judit Elek (born 10 November 1937) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. She directed 16 films between 1962 and 2006. Her film '' Mária-nap'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. Filmograp ...

(2008) * János Fajó (2008) * Ádám Fischer (2008) * Zsuzsa Koncz (2008) * Péter Kovács (2008) * Dezső Ránki (2008) *

Mihály Balázs Mihály Balázs (born 1948) is a Hungarian Catholic historian and professor of religious history at the University of Szeged. He is widely regarded as an expert on the religious history of Hungarian-speaking Transylvania. Works * Mihály Balázs, ...

(2009) * Gábor Máté (2009) * László Rajk Jr. (2009) * Pál Sándor (2009) *

Endre Tot Endre Tot (Endre Tót) born in Sümeg, Hungary, 1937 is a Hungarian artist who lives and works in Cologne, Germany. Tot participated in the Fluxus movement and is well known for his Mail art projects, the use of xerox copies and usage of rubber sta ...

(2009) * Tamás Féner (2010) * Gyula Maár (2010) *

Ferenc Rados Ferenc Rados (born 26 October 1934, in Budapest) is a Hungarian pianist and professor of piano and chamber music. Until 1996, he taught at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. After retiring, he gave master classes in Europe an ...

(2010) * László Vidovszky (2010) * Agota Kristof (2011) * István Nemeskürty (2011) * István Orosz (2011) * Judit Reigl (2011) * Ferenc Rofusz (2011) *

György Szabados György Szabados (13 July 1939 – 10 June 2011) was a Hungarian jazz pianist, and is sometimes referred to as the "father" or "unofficial king" of the Hungarian free jazz movement since the 1960s. Biography Szabados was born in Budapes ...

(2011) * Ákos Kovács (2012) *

Éva Schubert Éva Schubert (19 January 1931 – 11 July 2017) was a Hungarian actress, who won a Kossuth Prize in 2013 for her lifetime achievement. She was born and died in Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hung ...

(2013) *

Zoltán Gera Zoltán Gera (; born 22 April 1979) is a Hungarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played for Fulham, Pécsi Mecsek and Harkány SE, as well as enjoying two spells at Ferencváros and West Bromwich ...

(2013) *

Vera Pap Vera Pap (born Veronika Pap 27 January 1956 – 9 April 2015) was a Hungarian actress. She appeared in more than fifty films from 1960 to 2015. Selected filmography References External links * 1956 births 2015 deaths Hungarian fil ...

(2013) *

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. Th ...

(2013) * Ferenc Snétberger (2014) * Kati Kovács (2014) *

Atilla Kiss B. Atilla Kiss B. (Hungarian style Kiss B. Atilla) (born 28 January 1963, Huedin) is a Romanian-born Hungarian operatic tenor. He made his debut at the Cluj-Napoca Hungarian Opera in 1993. In 2002 he sang the title role in the film version of Feren ...

(2014) * Fecó Balázs (2016) * László Nemes (2016) *

Ildikó Komlósi Ildikó Komlósi () (Békésszentandrás, 1959) is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano. Biography Komlósi studied music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music of Budapest and attended specialising classes at the Academy of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and ...

(2016) * Géza Röhrig (2016) *

Sylvia Sass Sylvia Sass (born 12 July 1951) is a Hungarian operatic soprano who has sung leading roles both in her native country and internationally. Life and career Born in Budapest, Sass studied at Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Olga Révh ...

(2017) * László Tahi Tóth (2017) * Károly Frenreisz (2017) *

Cecília Esztergályos Cecília Esztergályos (born 26 January 1943) is a Hungarian actress. She appeared in more than seventy films since 1962. Selected filmography References External links * 1943 births Living people Hungarian film actresses Actresse ...

(2018) * Teri Tordai (2018) * Feró Nagy (2021)

References

{{reflist Arts awards Hungarian awards Awards established in 1948 1948 establishments in Hungary