Prime Minister of Slovakia

Chairman of the Government of the Slovak Republic
Predseda vlády Slovenskej republiky
Coat of arms of the Slovak Republic
Incumbent Robert Fico since 25 October 2023
Member of	European Council
Residence	Episcopal Summer Palace, Old Town, Bratislava
Appointer	President of the Slovak Republic
Term length	Four years renewable
Formation	1 January 1993
First holder	Vladimír Mečiar
Salary	c. 132,000 € per annum (2024)
Website	vlada.gov.sk

The prime minister of Slovakia, officially the chairman of the government of the Slovak Republic (Slovak: Predseda vlády Slovenskej republiky), commonly referred to in Slovakia as Predseda vlády or informally as Premiér, is the head of the government of the Slovak Republic. Officially, the officeholder is the third-highest constitutional official in Slovakia after the president of the Republic (appointer) and chairman of the National Council; in practice, the appointee is the country's leading political figure.

Since the office was created in 1969, fifteen different people have served as head of government. Since 1993, when Slovakia gained independence, nine people have occupied the function. On 25 October 2023, Robert Fico became the prime minister of Slovakia.

History

The office of the prime minister of Slovakia was established in 1969 by the Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation. A similar office had existed from 1918 when various officials were presiding over executive bodies governing the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia or the Slovak State respectively. Since 1993, when the independent Slovak Republic was established, nine persons have held the office. Since 25 October 2023, the prime minister of Slovakia has been Robert Fico.

Powers and role

Since Slovakia is a parliamentary republic, the prime minister is accountable to the National Council. The Slovak Constitution provides that upon the accession to the office, each prime minister must gain and thereafter maintain the confidence of the Parliament. When the prime minister loses confidence, the president must dismiss him and designate a new prime minister or entrust the dismissed prime minister to act as a caretaker with limited powers.

The prime minister is the most powerful state office since he commands and presides over the government. Although it is not the prime minister but the president who appoints ministers in Cabinet, the president appoints ministers on the prime minister's advice.

Designated Prime Minister of Slovakia

Designated Prime Minister of Slovakia (Slovak: designovaný predseda vlády) is an unofficial title for a person who has been entrusted by the president of the Slovak Republic with forming a new government and replacing the outgoing prime minister. This title, as well as the authorization of the president to entrust the designated prime minister, is not set by an act but is a legal or, more precisely, constitutional tradition. According to this tradition, the president designates a person who has the support of the majority of deputies in the National Council.

List of prime ministers of Slovakia

Czechoslovak Republic

Autonomous Land of Slovakia (1938–1939)

• Jozef Tiso (7 October 1938 – 9 March 1939)

First Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

• Jozef Tiso (14 March 1939 – 17 October 1939)
• Vojtech Tuka (27 October 1939 – 5 September 1944)
• Štefan Tiso (5 September 1944 – 4 April 1945)

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1969–1990)

Main article: Slovak Socialist Republic

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Party
		Took office	Left office	Duration
	Štefan Sádovský (1928–1984)	1 January 1969	5 May 1969	124 days		KSS
	Peter Colotka (1925–2019)	5 May 1969	13 October 1988	19 years and 161 days		KSS
	Ivan Knotek (1936–2020)	13 October 1988	23 June 1989	253 days		KSS
	Pavel Hrivnák (1931–1995)	23 June 1989	8 December 1989	168 days		KSS
	Milan Čič (1932–2012)	8 December 1989	6 March 1990	88 days		KSS

Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (1990–1992)

Main article: Czech and Slovak Federative Republic

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Party		Government Composition	Election
		Took office	Left office	Duration
	Milan Čič (1932–2012)	6 March 1990	27 June 1990	113 days		VPN	Čič caretaker
	Vladimír Mečiar (born 1942) 1st term	27 June 1990	6 May 1991	313 days		VPN	Mečiar I VPN–KDH–DS	1990
	Ján Čarnogurský (born 1944)	6 May 1991	24 June 1992	1 year and 49 days		KDH	Čarnogurský ODÚ–KDH–DS
	Vladimír Mečiar (born 1942) 2nd term	24 June 1992	31 December 1992	190 days		HZDS	Mečiar II HZDS–SNS	1992

Slovak Republic (1993–present)

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Duration	Party		Cabinet	Composition	Election	President
	Vladimír Mečiar (born 1942)	1 January 1993	15 March 1994	1 year, 73 days		HZDS	Mečiar II	HZDS • SNS	1992	Michal Kováč (1993–1998)
	Jozef Moravčík (born 1945)	15 March 1994	13 December 1994	273 days		DEÚS	Moravčík	SDĽ • KDH • DEÚS • NDS
	Vladimír Mečiar (born 1942)	13 December 1994	30 October 1998	3 years, 321 days		HZDS	Mečiar III	HZDS • SNS • ZRS	1994
	Mikuláš Dzurinda (born 1956)	30 October 1998	16 October 2002	7 years, 247 days		SDK	Dzurinda I	SDK • SDĽ • SMK • SOP	1998	Rudolf Schuster (1999–2004)
		16 October 2002	4 July 2006			SDKÚ	Dzurinda II	SDKÚ • SMK • KDH • ANO (2002–2006)	2002
								SDKÚ • SMK • ANO (2006)		Ivan Gašparovič (2004–2014)
	Robert Fico (born 1964)	4 July 2006	8 July 2010	4 years, 4 days		Smer	Fico I	Smer • SNS • ĽS–HZDS	2006
	Iveta Radičová (born 1956)	8 July 2010	4 April 2012	1 year, 271 days		SDKÚ–DS	Radičová	SDKÚ–DS • SaS • KDH • Most–Híd	2010
	Robert Fico (born 1964)	4 April 2012	23 March 2016	5 years, 352 days		Smer	Fico II	Smer	2012
		23 March 2016	22 March 2018				Fico III	Smer • SNS • Most–Híd • Network (2016)	2016	Andrej Kiska (2014–2019)
								Smer • SNS • Most–Híd (2016–2018)
	Peter Pellegrini (born 1975)	22 March 2018	21 March 2020	1 year, 365 days		Smer	Pellegrini	Smer • SNS • Most–Híd
										Zuzana Čaputová (2019–2024)
	Igor Matovič (born 1973)	21 March 2020	1 April 2021	1 year, 11 days		OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ	Matovič	OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ • We Are Family • SaS • For the People	2020
	Eduard Heger (born 1976)	1 April 2021	15 May 2023	2 years, 44 days		OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ	Heger	OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ • We Are Family • SaS • For the People (2021–2022)
								OĽaNO–NOVA–KÚ–ZZ • We Are Family • For the People (2022–2023)
	Ľudovít Ódor (born 1976)	15 May 2023	25 October 2023	163 days		Independent	Ódor	Technocratic cabinet
	Robert Fico (born 1964)	25 October 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 95 days		Smer	Fico IV	Smer • Hlas • SNS	2023

Timeline

Slovak Republic (1993–present)

See also

• List of prime ministers of Czechoslovakia
• List of prime ministers of the Slovak Socialist Republic