János Kis (born 17 September 1943) is a Hungarian philosopher and political scientist, who served as the inaugural leader of the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) from 1990 to 1991.

In 1973 he was dismissed as a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences after co-authoring a book criticizing Marxist socialism from leftist point of view.

On radical leftist and human-rights-liberal basis, he strongly opposed the communist regime in Hungary, he helped to create the first opposition journal Beszélő which was first issued in December 1981.

After the fall of communism in 1989–1990, the SzDSz entered the democratic Parliament and Kis was elected as the party leader on 23 February 1990.

He welcomed the coalition of the SzDSz with the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) In 1992, he became a professor at the Central European University.