He was appointed to a member of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party in 1970 and served as Minister of Labour from 1970 to 1973.

György Lázár signed a treaty in Budapest on 16 September 1977, which initiated the controversial large barrage project of Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros Dams.

During his premiership, along with his deputies Antal Apró and György Aczél, he was a member of that delegation which took over the returned Holy Crown from U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in the Hungarian Parliament Building.

[2] In the summer of 1987, when the highest party and state offices' major personnel changes were made (although most senior official only got another post, the same cadres stayed), Lázár was appointed deputy secretary-general of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (i.e. deputy for Kádár).

The previous deputy secretary-general Károly Németh became chairman of the Hungarian Presidential Council following the retiring Pál Losonczi.

In May 1988 at the party's national conference, when Kádár was replaced, Lázár was one of the few ancient leaders who were not elected to the new Central Committee.

In 2011 the issue of the former communist leaders and senior officials' high state pensions were highlighted.