President of Slovakia
| President of the Slovak Republic
Prezident Slovenskej republiky | |
|---|---|
 Presidential Standard | |
| Residence |
Grassalkovich Palace Bratislava |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length |
Five years renewable once, consecutively |
| Inaugural holder |
Michal Kováč 2 March 1993 |
| Formation | Constitution of Slovakia |
| Salary | c. 110,880 €[1] |
| Website | President of the Slovak Republic |
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Slovakia |
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Legislature |
The President of the Slovak Republic (Slovak: Prezident Slovenskej republiky) is the head of state of Slovakia and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The president is directly elected by the people for five years, and can be elected for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the president does exercise certain limited powers with absolute discretion. The president's official residence is the Grassalkovich Palace in Bratislava.
History of the office
The office was established by the constitution of Slovakia on 1 January 1993 when Slovakia permanently split from Czechoslovakia and became independent. The office was vacant until 2 March 1993 when the first president Michal Kováč was elected by the National Council of Slovak Republic. However, in 1998, the National Council was unable to elect a successor to Kováč. The result was that for half a year after Kováč's term ended in March 1998, the position was vacant. The duties and powers of the office were devolved upon the then prime minister and speaker of the National Council. In order to come to a solution, the constitution was changed to transfer election of the president to the people. Presidential elections have been held in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
The current president is Andrej Kiska, who took office on 15 June 2014.
Role and powers
The President of Slovakia has a limited role in policy-making, as the office is largely ceremonial. According to the constitution, the president is the supreme representative of the state both in Slovakia and abroad.
Among his constitutional powers are nominating and appointing the Prime Minister, three judges of the constitutional court and three members of the judicial council. The president can also veto any bill or proposal by the National Council, except for constitutional amendments. This veto can be overridden if the National Council passes the same bill again with a two-thirds majority of all members of the Council, similar to the US system of presidential veto. The president also acts as the commander-in-chief of the Slovak armed forces.
Among his other constitutional duties are signing bills into the law, appointing ministers on the recommendation of the prime minister and appointing various other state officials: generals, professors, judges, rectors, procurators and such. The president can grant pardon, amnesty, commutations, and parole on the recommendation of the minister of justice.
Presidents of the Slovak Republic
- Parties
| President | Presidency | Party | Term | Previous office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Michal Kováč 1930–2016 (Lived: 86 years) |
2 March 1993 – 2 March 1998 |
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) |
1 (1993) | Chairman of the Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (1992) |
| 2 |  |
Rudolf Schuster Born 1934 (84 years old) |
15 June 1999 – 15 June 2004 |
Party of Civic Understanding (SOP) |
2 (1999) | Member of the National Council (1998–1999) Mayor of Košice (1994–1999) |
| 3 |  |
Ivan Gašparovič Born 1941 (77 years old) |
15 June 2004 – 15 June 2014 |
Movement for Democracy (HZD) |
3 (2004) | Chairman of the National Council (1993–1998) |
| Independent | 4 (2009) | |||||
| 4 |  |
Andrej Kiska Born 1963 (55 years old) |
15 June 2014 – Incumbent |
Independent | 5 (2014) | None prior elected office |
Acting Presidents
| Name | Term |
|---|---|
| Vladimír Mečiar Ivan Gašparovič |
2 March 1998 – 30 October 1998 14 July 1998 – 30 October 1998 |
| Mikuláš Dzurinda Jozef Migaš |
30 October 1998 – 15 June 1999 |
Latest election
| Candidates and nominating parties | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Robert Fico (Smer) | 531,919 | 28.0 | 893,841 | 40.61 |
| Andrej Kiska (Independent) | 455,996 | 24.0 | 1,307,065 | 59.38 |
| Radoslav Procházka (Independent) | 403,548 | 21.2 | ||
| Milan Kňažko (Independent) | 244,401 | 12.9 | ||
| Gyula Bárdos (SMK–MKP) | 97,035 | 5.1 | ||
| Pavol Hrušovský (KDH, SDKÚ–DS, Most) | 63,298 | 3.3 | ||
| Helena Mezenská (Independent) | 45,180 | 2.4 | ||
| Ján Jurišta (KSS) | 12,209 | 0.6 | ||
| Ján Čarnogurský (Independent) | 12,207 | 0.6 | ||
| Viliam Fischer (Independent) | 9,514 | 0.5 | ||
| Jozef Behýl (Independent) | 9,126 | 0.5 | ||
| Milan Melník (Independent]) | 7,678 | 0.4 | ||
| Jozef Šimko (SMS) | 4,674 | 0.2 | ||
| Stanislav Martinčko (KOS) | 2,547 | 0.1 | ||
| Total (turnout 43.40% / 50.48% ) | 1,899,332 | 100.00 | 2,200,906 | 100.00 |
| Sources: statistics.sk | ||||
Living former Presidents
There are two living former Slovak Presidents:
Rudolf Schuster
(1999–2004)
January 4, 1934Ivan Gašparovič
(2004–2014)
March 27, 1941
See also
References
- ↑ "ZÁKON O PLATOVÝCH POMEROCH NIEKTORÝCH ÚSTAVNÝCH ČINITEĽOV SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY" (PDF) (in Slovak). Government of Slovakia. 13 March 2013.
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