President of Slovakia

President of the Slovak Republic
Prezident Slovenskej republiky
Presidential standard
Incumbent Peter Pellegrini since 15 June 2024
Residence	Grassalkovich Palace, Old Town, Bratislava
Appointer	Popular vote
Term length	Five years renewable once, consecutively
Inaugural holder	Michal Kováč 2 March 1993
Formation	Constitution of Slovakia
Succession	Line of succession
Salary	c. 204,000 € per annum (2024) Pension for former presidents: c. 48,000 € per annum (2024)
Website	President of the Slovak Republic

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 people directly elect the president for five years, for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The presidency is essentially 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 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. To resolve the issue, the constitution was changed to provide for the popular election of the president. Presidential elections have been held in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024.

The current President is Peter Pellegrini, who took office on 15 June 2024.

Role and powers

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.

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. Historically, all Slovak presidents delegated this power to the government. Technically, it is officially done by Decision of President No. 250/2001 Coll. (which superseded Decision of President No. 205/1993 Coll.), which is still in effect.

Among the president's constitutional powers are nominating and appointing the prime minister. The constitution does not limit the president's choice; through their decisions, the president ensures the due performance of constitutional bodies. 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, 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.

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 majority of all council members, so this power is considered relatively weak.

Honour Guard of the President

The president is formally the commander-in-chief of the 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. In such cases, the government is responsible for the president's decision. The same applies to grants of amnesty and appointments of chiefs of diplomatic missions.

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.

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.

In many cases, the appointment of state officials is regulated by other laws. For example, the president's power to appoint constitutional judges is limited to selection from nominees voted by the National Council, from which the president has to appoint half. The appointment or recall of judges is determined by decisions of the Judicial Council, which submits its proposals to the president.

Presidential powers are substantially increased in special circumstances when the National Council passes a vote of no confidence in the government. 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.

Succession

In the case when the president is unable to perform their duties or if the presidency becomes vacant for any reason, the speaker of the National Council and the Government, led by the prime minister, jointly perform the duties of the president.

List of Presidents of Slovakia

See also: List of presidents of Czechoslovakia

Slovak Republic (1993–present)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Michal Kováč (1929–2016)	2 March 1993	2 March 1998	5 years	HZDS	1993
1998 Slovak presidential election Acting Presidents: Vladimír Mečiar and Ivan Gašparovič (1998 - 1999), later Mikuláš Dzurinda and Jozef Migaš (1999)
2		Rudolf Schuster (born 1934)	15 June 1999	15 June 2004	5 years	SOP	1999
3		Ivan Gašparovič (born 1941)	15 June 2004	15 June 2014	10 years	HZD	2004
						None	2009
4		Andrej Kiska (born 1963)	15 June 2014	15 June 2019	5 years	None	2014
5		Zuzana Čaputová (born 1973)	15 June 2019	15 June 2024	5 years	PS	2019
6		Peter Pellegrini (Born 1975)	15 June 2024	Incumbent	69 days	Hlas	2024

Timeline

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

Main article: 2024 Slovak presidential election

Candidate		Party	First round		Second round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Ivan Korčok	Independent	958,393	42.52	1,243,709	46.88
	Peter Pellegrini	Voice – Social Democracy	834,718	37.03	1,409,255	53.12
	Štefan Harabin	Independent	264,579	11.74
	Krisztián Forró	Hungarian Alliance	65,588	2.91
	Igor Matovič	Slovakia	49,201	2.18
	Ján Kubiš	Independent	45,957	2.04
	Patrik Dubovský	For the People	16,107	0.71
	Marian Kotleba	Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia	12,771	0.57
	Milan Náhlik	Independent	3,111	0.14
	Andrej Danko	Slovak National Party	1,905	0.08
	Róbert Švec	Slovak Revival Movement	1,876	0.08
Total			2,254,206	100.00	2,652,964	100.00
Valid votes			2,254,206	99.53	2,652,964	99.35
Invalid/blank votes			10,563	0.47	17,233	0.65
Total votes			2,264,769	100.00	2,670,197	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			4,364,071	51.90	4,368,697	61.12
Source: First Round, Second Round

See also

• List of prime ministers of Slovakia
• List of speakers of Slovak parliaments
• List of presidents of Czechoslovakia