Robert Fico (15 September 1964 in Topoľčany) is the current Prime Minister of Slovakia (since July 4, 2006). Image File history File links Robertfico. ... Chairman/President of the Provisional Government for Slovakia (1918; within Czechoslovakia) Vavro Šrobár (4 November 1918 – 14 November 1918) – ceased with the adoption of the Czechoslovak constitution Chairman of the Revolutionary Governing Council of the Slovak Soviet Republic (1919; in rebellion in eastern Slovakia) Antonín... For the ecclesiastical office, see Incumbent (ecclesiastical). ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mikuláš Dzurinda Mikuláš Dzurinda (born February 4, 1955) served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from October 30, 1998 until July 4, 2006 (after re-election in October 2002). ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Topoľčany (Slovak: Veľké Topoľčany before 1920, German: (Groß)topoltschan, Hungarian: Nagytapolcsány) is a town in the Nitra Region of Slovakia. ... The Direction - Social Democracy (Slovak: Smer - sociálna demokracia) party - before January 1, 2005 called Direction (the Third Way) (Smer (tretia cesta)) - , often just Smer, is a political party in Slovakia, led by Robert Fico. ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Topoľčany (Slovak: Veľké Topoľčany before 1920, German: (Groß)topoltschan, Hungarian: Nagytapolcsány) is a town in the Nitra Region of Slovakia. ... // Vavro Å robár (4 November 1918 – 14 November 1918) – ceased with the adoption of the Czechoslovak constitution Antonín JanouÅ¡ek (20 June 1919 – 7 July 1919) Ján Drobný (1 July 1928 - 1929) Jozef Országh (1929 - 1938) Julián Å imko (1938 - 1939) Jozef Tiso (7 October 1938 – 9...

His relatively new left-wing party Direction – Social Democracy (Slovak: "SMER – Sociálna demokracia") was the winner of the parliamentary elections in 2006, receiving approximately 30 percent of the votes. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... The Direction – Social Democracy (Slovak: Smer – sociálna demokracia) party — before January 1, 2005 called Direction (the Third Way) (Smer (tretia cesta)) —, often just Smer, is a political party in Slovakia, led by Robert Fico. ... The 2006 parliamentary elections in Slovakia will take place on Saturday June 17, 2006. ...

Life

A lawyer, Fico acquired his legal education in the communist Czechoslovakia. He graduated from the Law Faculty of the Comenius University at Bratislava and later worked for the Institute of State and Law of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1987. The Comenius University (Slovak: Univerzita Komenského), with most faculties located in Bratislava, is the largest university in Slovakia. ... Nickname: Location of Bratislava within Slovakia Coordinates: , Country Slovakia Region Bratislava Region Districts Bratislava I-V City subdivisions 17 city boroughs Cadastral areas 20 cadastral areas First mentioned 907[1] Government  - Type City council  - Mayor (Primátor) Andrej ÄŽurkovský[2]  - Headquarters Primates Palace Area [1]  - City 367. ... The Slovak Academy of Sciences (in Slovak Slovenská akadémia vied) is the main scientific and research institution in Slovakia fostering basic and strategic basic research. ... The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana ÄŒeskoslovenska (KSÄŒ) was a political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. ...

After the Velvet Revolution, following the collapse of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Fico joined the Party of the Democratic Left (SDL), which was a modern successor of the Communist Party of Slovakia. As a political appointee Fico also represented Slovakia as its legal counsel at the European Court of Human Rights. Non-violent protesters face armoured policemen The Velvet Revolution (Czech: , Slovak: ) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ... The Party of the Democratic Left (Spanish Partido Izquierda Democrática) is a political party in Ecuador. ... European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), often referred to informally as the Strasbourg Court, was created to systematise the hearing of human rights complaints against States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by...

In 1999, Fico founded a new party called Smer - tretia cesta (Direction - the Third Way). Although at first presented as a centrist party, the Fico's new party project soon shifted towards a more leftist rhetoric, the part of the political spectrum having been left vacant after the disintegration of Fico's previous party, the SDL.

Fico soon became one of the most popular politicians in Slovakia. His rhetoric was most often aimed at the ongoing reforms being carried out at the time by the right wing government of MikulᚠDzurinda. The reform's negative impacts increased the appeal and popularity of Fico's rhetoric. Mikuláš Dzurinda Mikuláš Dzurinda (born February 4, 1955) served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from October 30, 1998 until July 4, 2006 (after re-election in October 2002). ...

In the parliamentary elections of 2002, Fico's SMER received 13.46% of the votes and became the third largest party. The result was much lower than the pre-election estimates and Fico openly called it a failure. Nevertheless SMER became the largest opposition party.

Election victory

In the following elections in 2006 SMER won with 29.1% of the votes and formed a coalition government with Vladimír Mečiar's HZDS and Ján Slota's SNS. Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (born July 26, 1942) is the leader of the Peoples Party — Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) and a former Prime Minister of Slovakia. ... The Peoples Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (Slovak: Ľudová strana - Hnutie za demokratické Slovensko) is a political party in Slovakia. ... Ján Slota in 2006 Ján Slota (September 14, 1953 in Lietavská Lúčka) is a Slovak politician. ... The Slovak National Party (Slovak: Slovenská národná strana, SNS) is a Christian and nationalist political party in Slovakia. ...

Both Mečiar and Slota were a part of the government coalition between the years of 1994 to 1998 during which Slovakia's EU and NATO negotiations were stopped due to alleged insufficiences in various spheres of the government and unclear privatization transactions (alleged asset stripping). At that time, Fico, as a member of the opposition, was one of Mečiar's and Slota's critics.

As a result of Fico's decision to form government with the Slovak National Party, considered to be too nationalist by some, the Party of European Socialists, of which SMER was a member, decided in 2006 to suspend Fico's party membership. The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a European political party whose members are 33 social democratic, socialist and labour parties of the European Union member states as well as Norway. ...

Fico's Anti-Reform Approach

Upon taking the office, Fico declared an all-out war to all reforms carried out or started by the previous government, he has not changed much (yet) however as of mid-2007. Any attempts to change the government spending are limited by the fact that the country has - by c. 2008 - to fulfill the very strict Maastricht criteria to be able to adopt the euro as its new currency. The new government has slightly modified the radical flat tax system introduced by the previous government in that a special, lower VAT tax rate was imposed on medical drugs (the same is supposed to hold for books since 2008), and that the structure of lump-sum deductions for the income tax was changed. In the social and health care system, the previous government left the new Fico government with considerable (current and hidden future) debts and deficits, which now must be solved. As a result, intense discussions about modifications in the pension reform take place, the first main planned change as of mid-2007 being the removal of the current upper limit for the obligatory pension system contributions (which is a system used in the neighbouring Czech Republic for example). Fico himself also repeatedly critises the fact that - as he would put it - both private health insurance companies and private pension funds make unreasonable profits from obligatory public money. In the healt care, fees that people had to pay when visiting any doctor or hospital, introduced by the previous government, were aboslished again and it has been proposed to replace the current system of multiple insurance agencies, seen by many as a waste of operating and administrative costs, by a system of one single health insurance agency, used in many countries. The associated problems with the "renationatilisation" of the existing private insurance companies, however, basically brought the idea to a halt in mid-2007. Convergence criteria, also known as the Maastricht criteria, are the criteria for European Union member states to enter the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the euro. ... “EUR” redirects here. ...

The opposition parties accuse Fico of "populism" and lack of competence. Seeing - in his view - major media in Slovakia as being "controlled" by groups surrounding his opposition, Fico's communication with the media is sometimes arrogant and evasive. In foreign policy, Fico does not have many allies in the western world given that he has formed a coalition with the Slovak National Party. Social democratic parties in the Czech Republic and Austria are notable exceptions. Also, Fico critizes the US attitude in the issue of independence of Kosovo, he is an opponent of the planned construction (critised by Russia) of new US military bases in the neighbouring Czech Republic and Poland and one of the first steps upon the taking the office was a military pullout from Iraq, which had been part of his election campaign. His foreign trips in the first year included visits of China and Libya, for which he has been critised by his opponents.

One of Fico's famous quotes is that in 1989 when the country was tackling the communist dictatorship, "he was busy working (at the communist ministry of justice) and didn't even notice anything substantial going on". Fico has said that the past communist regime was superior in many aspects to the current democratic one (In fact, it was only in 2007 that the statistical real income in Slovakia reached the level of the last year of the Communist regime - 1989).

References

External links

• Short biography on government website

v • d • e Prime Ministers of Slovakia

Provisional Government for Slovakia (as part of Czechoslovakia): Vavro Šrobár (1918) Mikuláš Dzurinda Mikuláš Dzurinda (born February 4, 1955) served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from October 30, 1998 until July 4, 2006 (after re-election in October 2002). ... Chairman/President of the Provisional Government for Slovakia (1918; within Czechoslovakia) Vavro Šrobár (4 November 1918 – 14 November 1918) – ceased with the adoption of the Czechoslovak constitution Chairman of the Revolutionary Governing Council of the Slovak Soviet Republic (1919; in rebellion in eastern Slovakia) Antonín... // Vavro Å robár (4 November 1918 – 14 November 1918) – ceased with the adoption of the Czechoslovak constitution Antonín JanouÅ¡ek (20 June 1919 – 7 July 1919) Ján Drobný (1 July 1928 - 1929) Jozef Országh (1929 - 1938) Julián Å imko (1938 - 1939) Jozef Tiso (7 October 1938 – 9... Slovak Soviet Republic: Antonín Janoušek (1919) The Slovak Soviet Republic The Slovak Soviet Republic (in Slovak: Slovenská republika rád = literally: Slovak Republic of Councils - it was before the Russian word soviet (council) became widespread in Slovak and other languages) was a short lived communist state in south and eastern Slovakia from 16 June to 7... Antonín JanouÅ¡ek (1877–1941) was a Czech journalist and communist. ... Autonomous Slovakia (as part of Czechoslovakia): Jozef Tiso (1938 – 1939) | Jozef Sivák (1939) | Karol Sidor (1939) Josef Tiso in photo Monsignor Jozef Tiso (October 13, 1887–April 18, 1947) was a Roman Catholic priest who became a deputy of the Czechoslovak parliament, a member of the Czechoslovak government, and finally the President of Independent Slovak Republic from 1939-1945, allied with Nazi Germany. ... First Slovak Republic: Jozef Tiso (1939) | Vojtech Tuka (1939 – 1944) | Štefan Tiso (1944 – 1945) The Slovak Republic (Slovak: Slovenská republika) was an independent national Slovak state and ally of National Socialist (Nazi) Germany during World War II on the territory of present-day Slovakia (with the exception of the southern and eastern parts of present-day Slovakia. ... Josef Tiso in photo Monsignor Jozef Tiso (October 13, 1887–April 18, 1947) was a Roman Catholic priest who became a deputy of the Czechoslovak parliament, a member of the Czechoslovak government, and finally the President of Independent Slovak Republic from 1939-1945, allied with Nazi Germany. ... Vojtech Tuka (July 4, 1880, Å tiavnické Bane (at that time Piarg) - August 20, 1946, executed in Bratislava) was the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic between 1940 and 1945 and one of the most controversial people in Slovak history. ... Å tefan Tiso was the Prime Minister (replacing Vojtech Tuka), Interior Minister (replacing Å aňo Mach) and Minister of Justice (replacing Gejza Fritz) of the Slovak Republic 1944-1945 . ... Presidents of the Board of Commissioners (as part of Czechoslovakia): Karol Šmidke (1945 – 1946) | Gustáv Husák (1946 – 1950) | Karol Bacílek (1950 – 1951) | Július Ďuriš (1951 – 1953) | Rudolf Strechaj (1953 – 1960) Karol Å midke (born January 21, 1897 - December 15, 1952) was a Slovak politician, member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. ... Gustáv Husák (January 10, 1913 in Dúbravka (today part of Bratislava, Slovakia) - November 18, 1991 in Bratislava) was a Slovak politician, president of Czechoslovakia and a long-term Communist leader of Czechoslovakia and of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s. ... Slovak Socialist Republic / Slovak Republic (as part of Czechoslovakia): Štefan Sádovský (1969) | Peter Colotka (1969-1988) | Ivan Knotek (1988-1989) | Pavel Hrivnák (1989) | Milan Čič (1989-1990) | Vladimír Mečiar (1990-1991) | Ján Čarnogurský (1991-1992) | Vladimír Mečiar (1992) From 1969 to 1990, the Slovak Socialist Republic (Slovenská socialistická republika in Slovak; abbreviated SSR) was the official name of that part of Czechoslovakia that is Slovakia today. ... Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (born July 26, 1942) is the leader of the Peoples Party — Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) and a former Prime Minister of Slovakia. ... Ján ÄŒarnogurský (born January 1, 1944, Bratislava - ) is a former Slovak politician, a former Prime Minister of Slovakia (1991-1992) and the former chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement (1990-2002). ... Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (born July 26, 1942) is the leader of the Peoples Party — Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) and a former Prime Minister of Slovakia. ... Slovak Republic: Vladimír Mečiar (1993-1994) | Jozef Moravčík (1994) | Vladimír Mečiar (1994-1998) | Mikuláš Dzurinda (1998-2006) | Robert Fico (2006-) Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (born July 26, 1942) is the leader of the Peoples Party — Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) and a former Prime Minister of Slovakia. ... Jozef Moravčík (born on March 19, 1945) was a Slovak diplomat and political figure. ... Vladimír Mečiar Vladimír Mečiar (born July 26, 1942) is the leader of the Peoples Party — Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) and a former Prime Minister of Slovakia. ... Mikuláš Dzurinda Mikuláš Dzurinda (born February 4, 1955) served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from October 30, 1998 until July 4, 2006 (after re-election in October 2002). ...