View source for President of Slovakia

{{Short description|Head of state of Slovakia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = President
| body = the Slovak Republic
| native_name = <small>Prezident Slovenskej republiky</small>
| flag = Flag of the President of Slovakia.svg
| flagsize = 125
| flagborder = yes
| flagcaption = Presidential standard
| image = Peter Pellegrini, 2024 (cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 165px
| incumbent = [[Peter Pellegrini]]
| incumbentsince = 15 June 2024
| residence = [[Grassalkovich Palace]], [[Old Town, Bratislava|Old Town]], [[Bratislava]]
| style = {{plainlist|
* [[Mr. President (title)|Mr. President]] (informal)
* [[Excellency|His Excellency]] (diplomatic)
}}
| type = [[Head of state]]
| appointer = [[Direct election|Popular vote]]
| termlength = Five years, 
| termlength_qualified = renewable once consecutively
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of Slovakia]] (1992)
| formation = {{start date and age|df=y|1993|3|2}}
| first = [[Michal Kováč]]
| succession = [[#Succession|Line of succession]]
| salary = {{circa}} 204,000 [[Euro|€]] per annum<ref name="RTVS 2024">{{Cite news|title=Prezident má z ústavných činiteľov najvyšší plat. Takto sa vypočíta|url=https://spravy.rtvs.sk/2024/03/prezident-ma-z-ustavnych-cinitelov-najvyssi-plat-takto-sa-vypocita/|website=[[Radio and Television of Slovakia]]|date=19 March 2024|access-date=7 April 2024|language=sk}}</ref><br>(2024)<br><small>Pension for former presidents:<br>{{circa}} 48,000 [[Euro|€]] per annum<ref name="RTVS 2024"(2024)/></small>
| website = {{URL|www.prezident.sk/}}
}}
{{Politics of Slovakia}}
The '''president of the Slovak Republic''' ({{langx|sk|Prezident Slovenskej republiky}}) serves as the [[head of state]] of [[Slovak Republic|Slovakia]] and [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic|Armed Forces]]. The people directly elect the president for five years, for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The presidency is essentially [[Figurehead|a ceremonial office]], but the president exercises certain limited powers with absolute discretion. Their official residence is the [[Grassalkovich Palace]] in [[Bratislava]].

==History==
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, when the first president, [[Michal Kováč]], was elected by the [[National Council (Slovakia)|National Council of Slovak Republic]]. However, in 1998, the National Council could not elect a successor to Kováč. As a result, the position was vacant for half a year after Kováč's term ended in March 1998. The duties and powers of the office devolved upon the then-prime minister and speaker of the [[National Council of the Slovak Republic|National Council]]. To resolve the issue, the constitution was changed to provide for the popular election of the president. Presidential elections have been held in [[1999 Slovak presidential election|1999]], [[2004 Slovak presidential election|2004]], [[2009 Slovak presidential election|2009]], [[2014 Slovak presidential election|2014]], [[2019 Slovak presidential election|2019]], and [[2024 Slovak presidential election|2024]].

[[Peter Pellegrini]] is the current president, taking office on 15 June 2024.

==Role and powers==
[[File:Bratislava Grassalkovich Palace 01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Grassalkovich Palace]], seat of the president of Slovakia]]
The president of Slovakia has a limited role in policy-making, as the office is largely ceremonial within the framework of a parliamentary republic. According to the constitution, the president is the supreme representative of the state both in Slovakia and abroad.<ref name=con>{{Cite web|title=Constitution of the Slovak Republic|url=https://www.ustavnysud.sk/en/ustava-slovenskej-republiky|website=Constitutional Court of Slovakia|access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref>

The president represents the Slovak Republic externally and concludes and ratifies international treaties. The president may delegate to the government or, with the government's consent, to individual members of the Slovak Republic, the conclusion of international treaties.<ref name=con /> Historically, all Slovak presidents delegated this power to the government which has been done{{clarify|date=September 2019}} by Decision of President No. 250/2001 Coll. (which superseded Decision of President No. 205/1993 Coll.).<ref>{{Cite web|title=250/2001 Z. z.|url=https://www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/2001/250/ |website=Slov-Lex |publisher=Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic |access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref>

Among the president's constitutional powers are nominating and appointing the [[Prime Minister of Slovakia|prime minister]]. The constitution does not limit the president's choice; through their decisions, the president ensures the due performance of constitutional bodies.{{clarify|date=September 2019}} Because the government of whoever is appointed prime minister must receive a vote of confidence in parliament, the president usually appoints the winning party or coalition leader in parliamentary elections.

The president has sole discretion to appoint three members of the judicial council, one member of the Budget Council, and two members of the council of the Nation's Memory Institute; to award distinctions,{{clarify|date=September 2019}} to appoint the president and vice-president of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (from among the Constitutional Court judges), and to grant pardon or parole.<ref name=con /> They can veto any bill or proposal by the [[National Council (Slovakia)|National Council]], except for constitutional amendments.<ref name=con /> This veto can be overridden if the National Council passes the same bill again with a majority of all council members, so this power is considered relatively weak.

[[File:Cestnastraz.jpg|thumb|left|[[Honour Guard of the President (Slovakia)|Honour Guard of the President]]]]
The president is formally the [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Military of Slovakia|Slovak armed forces]], but this role is ceremonial because by the constitution when the president acts as the [[commander-in-chief]], their decision is valid only after it is signed by the prime minister or a minister authorized by the prime minister.<ref name=con />

Among their other constitutional duties are signing bills into law, appointing ministers on the prime minister's recommendation, and appointing various other state officials, such as generals, professors, judges, rectors, and prosecutors.<ref name=con />

The president has discretionary power over the appointments of some officials. For example, there have been cases when the president has refused to appoint vice-governors of the National Bank of Slovakia recommended by the government. These actions of the president were confirmed by the Constitutional Court.<ref>{{cite web |title=PL. ÚS 14/06|url=http://www.codices.coe.int/NXT/gateway.dll/CODICES/full/eur/svk/svk/svk-2010-1-001 |website=Codicces|access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref>

Presidential powers are substantially increased in special circumstances when the National Council passes a vote of no confidence in the government.<ref name=con /> In such a case, many executive powers of government (e.g., appointment of officials, foreign trips, signing treaties) are subject to the president's approval, and the president can appoint the government without being subject to the parliament's approval.<ref name="slovakia">{{Cite news|first1=Radovan|last1=Stoklasa|first2=Jason|last2=Hovet|title=Slovakian president picks technocrat government after prime minister quits|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/slovakia-prime-minister-quits-2023-05-07/|website=[[Reuters]]|date=7 May 2023}}</ref>

==List of presidents of Slovakia==

===Czechoslovakia (1918–1992)===
{{main|List of presidents of Czechoslovakia}}

===(First) Slovak Republic (1939–1945)===
{{main|Slovak Republic (1939–1945)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center; border:1px #aaf solid;"
|-
! rowspan="2" width="10" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" | Portrait
! rowspan="2" | Name<br>{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! colspan="3" | Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Party
! rowspan="2" width="65" | Election
|-
! width="85" | {{small|Took office}}
! width="85" | {{small|Left office}}
! width="10" | {{small|Duration}}
|-
! style="background: {{party color|Slovak People's Party}}; color:white" |'''1'''
| [[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-2010-0049,_Josef_Tiso.jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Jozef Tiso]]'''<br/>{{small|(1887–1947)}}
| class="nowrap" | {{smaller|26 October}}<br />1939
| class="nowrap" | {{smaller|4 April}}<br />1945
| {{age in years and days|1939|10|26|1945|04|04|sep=and}}
| [[Slovak People's Party|HSĽS-SSNJ]]
| 1939<br /><small>by his party</small>
|}

===Slovak Republic (since 1993)===

{| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.4em; text-align:center; border:1px #aaf solid;"
|-
! rowspan="2" width="10" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" | Portrait
! rowspan="2" | Name<br>{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! colspan="3" | Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Party{{Efn|All presidents since 1993 have resigned their political affiliation after taking office. The parties listed represent those that presidents have been elected as representatives of.}}
! rowspan="2" width="65" | Election
|-
! width="85" | {{small|Took office}}
! width="85" | {{small|Left office}}
! width="10" | {{small|Duration}}
|-
! style="background:#73C2FB; color:white" |'''1'''
|[[File:Michal Kováč.jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Michal Kováč]]'''<br />{{small|(1930–2016)}}
| class="nowrap" | {{smaller|2 March}}<br />1993
| class="nowrap" | {{smaller|2 March}}<br />1998
| 5 years
|[[People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia|HZDS]]
|[[1993 Slovak presidential election|1993]]
|-
| colspan="8" |{{small|''[[1998 Slovak presidential election]]<br/>Acting Presidents: [[Vladimír Mečiar]] and [[Ivan Gašparovič]] (1998), later [[Mikuláš Dzurinda]] and [[Jozef Migaš]] (1998–1999)''}}
|-
! style="background:#f53e13; color:white" |'''2'''
|[[File:Rudolf Schuster 2011.jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Rudolf Schuster]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1934)}}
| class="nowrap" | {{smaller|15 June}}<br />1999
| class="nowrap" | {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2004
| 5 years
|[[Party of Civic Understanding|SOP]]
|[[1999 Slovak presidential election|1999]]
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background:#79b6d7; color:white" |'''3'''
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Ivan Gašparovič (cropped) Election infobox.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2" | '''[[Ivan Gašparovič]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1941)}}
| rowspan="2" | {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2004
| rowspan="2" | {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2014
| rowspan="2" | 10 years
|[[Movement for Democracy (Slovakia)|HZD]]
|[[2004 Slovak presidential election|2004]]
|-
|''None''
|[[2009 Slovak presidential election|2009]]
|-
! style="background:#cccccc; color:white" |'''4'''
|[[File:Andrej Kiska in Senate of Poland (cropped 3).jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Andrej Kiska]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1963)}}
| {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2014
| {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2019
| 5 years
|''None''
|[[2014 Slovak presidential election|2014]]
|-
! style="background:#00bdff; color:white" |'''5'''
|[[File:ZuzanaCaputovaPokracujeVKampani-Orez-IMG 0394-SF.jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Zuzana Čaputová]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1973)}}
| {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2019
| {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2024
| 5 years
|[[Progressive Slovakia|PS]]
|[[2019 Slovak presidential election|2019]]
|-
! style="background:#7e1447; color:white" |'''6'''
|[[File:Peter Pellegrini, 2024 (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Peter Pellegrini]]'''<br />{{small|(born 1975)}}
| {{smaller|15 June}}<br />2024
| Incumbent
| {{age in years and days|2024|06|15|sep=and}}
|[[Voice – Social Democracy|Hlas]]
|[[2024 Slovak presidential election|2024]]
|-
|}

==Timeline==
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:13
PlotArea  = top:10 bottom:120 right:150 left:20
AlignBars = late

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/01/1993 till:{{#time:d/m/Y}}
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:3 start:1993
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1993

Legend     = columns:3 left:110 top:77 columnwidth:245

Colors =
 id:ind   value:gray(0.8)              legend:Independent
 id:HZDS  value:rgb(0.45,0.76,1)       legend:Movement_for_a_Democratic_Slovakia
 id:SOP   value:rgb(0.96,0.24,0.08)    legend:Party_of_Civic_Understanding
 id:HZD   value:rgb(0.475,0.714,0.843) legend:Movement_for_Democracy
 id:PS    value:rgb(0,0.741,1)         legend:Progressive_Slovakia
 id:Hlas  value:rgb(0.49,0.07,0.28)   legend:Voice_Social_Democracy
 id:liteline    value:gray(0.8)
 id:line        value:rgb(0.3,0.3,0.3)
 id:bg          value:white

Define $now = {{#time:d/m/Y|0 hours}}

TextData =
  pos:(20,77) textcolor:black fontsize:s
  text:"Political Affiliation:"

BarData =
  bar:Kováč
  bar:Schuster
  bar:Gašparovič
  bar:Kiska
  bar:Čaputová
  bar:Pellegrini

PlotData=
  width:5 align:left fontsize:s shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

 bar:Kováč
  from: 02/03/1993 till: 02/03/1998 color:HZDS text:"[[Michal Kováč]]"
 bar:Schuster
  from: 15/06/1999 till: 15/06/2004 color:SOP  text:"[[Rudolf Schuster]]"
 bar:Gašparovič
  from: 15/06/2004 till: 15/06/2009 color:HZD  
  from: 15/06/2009 till: 15/06/2014 color:Ind  text:"[[Ivan Gašparovič]]"
 bar:Kiska
  from: 15/06/2014 till: 15/06/2019 color:Ind  text:"[[Andrej Kiska]]"
 bar:Čaputová
  from: 15/06/2019 till: 15/06/2024 color:PS   text:"[[Zuzana Čaputová]]"
 bar:Pellegrini
  from: 15/06/2024 till: end        color:Hlas text:"[[Peter Pellegrini]]"
}}

==Acting presidents==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name!!Term
|-
|[[Vladimír Mečiar]]<br>[[Ivan Gašparovič]]
|2 March 1998 – 30 October 1998
|-
|[[Mikuláš Dzurinda]]<br>[[Jozef Migaš]]
|30 October 1998 – 15 June 1999
|}

==Latest election==
{{Main|2024 Slovak presidential election}}
{{Election results
|cand1=[[Ivan Korčok]]|party1=Independent|votes1=958393|votes1_2=1243709
|cand2=[[Peter Pellegrini]]|party2=[[Voice – Social Democracy]]|votes2=834718|votes2_2=1409255
|cand3=[[Štefan Harabin]]|party3=Independent|votes3=264579
|cand4=[[Krisztián Forró]]|party4=[[Hungarian Alliance (Slovak political party)|Hungarian Alliance]]|votes4=65588
|cand5=[[Igor Matovič]]|party5=[[Slovakia (political movement)|Slovakia]]|votes5=49201
|cand6=[[Ján Kubiš]]|party6=Independent|votes6=45957
|cand7=[[Patrik Dubovský]]|party7=[[For the People (Slovakia)|For the People]]|votes7=16107
|cand8=[[Marian Kotleba]]|party8=[[People's Party Our Slovakia|Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia]]|votes8=12771
|cand9={{ill|Milan Náhlik|sk}}|party9=Independent|votes9=3111
|cand10=[[Andrej Danko]]{{efn|name=fn1|Candidate withdrew in favour of Harabin, but was still on the ballot.}}|party10=[[Slovak National Party]]|votes10=1905
|cand11=[[Róbert Švec]]{{efn|name=fn1}}|party11={{ill|Slovak Revival Movement|sk|Slovenské Hnutie Obrody}}|votes11=1876|color11=#AA1801
|invalid=10563|invalid2=17233
|electorate=4364071|electorate2=4368697
|source=[https://www.volbysr.sk/en/vysledky_hlasovania_kolo1.html First Round], [https://www.volbysr.sk/en/vysledky_hlasovania_kolo2.html Second Round]
}}

==See also==
*[[Prime Minister of Slovakia|List of prime ministers of Slovakia]]
*[[List of speakers of Slovak parliaments]]
*[[List of presidents of Czechoslovakia]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Presidents of Slovakia}}

{{SlovakPresidents}}
{{Slovakia topics}}
{{Heads of state of the European Union member states}}
{{Heads of state and government of Europe}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Political history of Slovakia]]
[[Category:Presidents by country|Slovakia]]
[[Category:Presidents of Slovakia| ]]
[[Category:Government of Slovakia]]
[[Category:Political office-holders in Slovakia|Presidents]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in Slovakia]]