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Peter Pellegrini

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Peter Pellegrini
Pellegrini in 2024
Pellegrini in 2024
6th President of Slovakia
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 June 2024
Prime Minister Robert Fico
Preceded by Zuzana Čaputová
Prime Minister of Slovakia
In office
22 March 2018 – 21 March 2020
President Andrej Kiska
Zuzana Čaputová
Deputy See list
Gabriela Matečná
Richard Raši
László Sólymos
Peter Kažimír
Preceded by Robert Fico
Succeeded by Igor Matovič
Other positions in the executive
Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia for Investments and Info
In office
23 March 2016 – 22 March 2018
Prime Minister
Robert Fico
Preceded by
Ľubomír Vážny
Succeeded by
Richard Raši
Minister of Health
Acting
17 December 2019 – 21 March 2020
Prime Minister
Himself
Preceded by
Andrea Kalavská
Succeeded by
Marek Krajčí
Minister of Finance
Acting
11 April 2019 – 7 May 2019
Prime Minister
Himself
Preceded by
Peter Kažimír
Succeeded by
Ladislav Kamenický
Minister of Interior
Acting
17 April 2018 – 26 April 2018
Prime Minister
Himself
Preceded by
Tomáš Drucker
Succeeded by
Denisa Saková
Minister of Culture
Acting
7 March 2018 – 22 March 2018
Prime Minister
Robert Fico
Preceded by
Marek Maďarič
Succeeded by
Ľubica Laššáková
Minister of Education, Science, Research and Sport
In office
3 July 2014 – 25 November 2014
Prime Minister
Robert Fico
Preceded by
Dušan Čaplovič
Succeeded by
Juraj Draxler
Undersecretary of Finance
In office
11 April 2012 – 3 July 2014
Minister
Peter Kažimír
Speaker of the National Council
In office
25 October 2023 – 7 April 2024
President Zuzana Čaputová
Deputy See list
Ľuboš Blaha
Andrej Danko
Michal Šimečka
Peter Žiga
Preceded by Boris Kollár
Succeeded by Peter Žiga (acting)
In office
25 November 2014 – 23 March 2016
President Andrej Kiska
Deputy See list
Ján Figeľ
Erika Jurinová
Jana Laššáková
Renáta Zmajkovičová
Preceded by Pavol Paška
Succeeded by Andrej Danko
Other positions in the legislature
Deputy Speaker of the National Council
In office
24 March 2020 – 21 October 2020
Serving with Gábor Grendel, Milan Laurenčík and Juraj Šeliga
Speaker
Boris Kollár
Member of the National Council
In office
21 March 2020 – 7 April 2024
In office
25 November 2014 – 23 March 2016
In office
4 July 2006 – 11 April 2012
Chairman of Voice – Social Democracy
In office
28 November 2020 – 1 June 2024
Preceded by Office established
Succeeded by Matúš Šutaj Eštok
Personal details
Born 6 October 1975
Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
Party Independent
Other political
affiliations 		Direction – Social Democracy (2000–2020)
Voice – Social Democracy (2020–2024)
Alma mater Matej Bel University
Technical University of Košice (Ing.)
Website President of the Slovak Republic

Peter Pellegrini[1] (born 6 October 1975) is a Slovak politician who has been serving since 2024 as the sixth president of Slovakia. He previously served as prime minister of Slovakia from 2018 to 2020.

Pellegrini also served as the minister of health from December 2019 to March 2020, deputy prime minister (2016–2018) and minister for Education and Science (2014), as well as spending two non-consecutive stints as speaker of the National Council (2014–2016; 2023–2024). Formerly a member of Direction – Social Democracy, he left the party and co-founded and has led Voice – Social Democracy since June 2020.

In January 2024, Pellegrini announced his candidacy in the 2024 Slovak presidential election. He finished in second behind Ivan Korčok in the first round of voting. However, he defeated Korčok in the second round held on 6 April with 53% of the vote and was inaugurated as the 6th president of Slovakia on 15 June 2024.[2]

Pellegrini is the first Slovak politician to have held all three highest constitutional posts (President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament) in the country.[3]

Early life and education

Pellegrini studied at the Faculty of Economics of Matej Bel University and the Technical University of Košice, focusing on banking, investment and finance at the latter.[4] Between 2002 and 2006, he worked as an economist and later as advisor to National Council member for Privatization and Economy Ľubomír Vážny, supported by ĽS-HZDS, SNS and Smer-SD.[4][5]

Political involvement

Early functions

He started his political career in 2002 at the age of 26 when he ran for the first time in the parliamentary elections for the party Direction – Social Democracy from 41st place and received 1,223 votes, which was not enough for him to become a deputy National Council of the SR. In the same year, he started working as an economist.[6]

In the 2006 parliamentary election, he ran for the Smer-SD party from the 27th place of the candidate list and was elected as a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic with a gain of 2,665 votes. During the 2006–2010 election period, he was a member of the Health Parliamentary Committee, Committee of the National Council for reviewing the decisions of the National Security Bureau and a member of the Mandate and Immunity Committee of the National Council.

In the 2010 Slovak parliamentary election, he again ran for the Smer-SD party from the 34th place in the candidate list and with a gain of 2,745 votes became a member of the National Council.[7] As a member of the National Council, he served as a member of the Committee for Finance and Budget and a member of the Committee for Review of Decisions National Security Bureau. He was again reelected in the 2012 elections.[4] He ran from the 35th place and received 5,950 votes. Between 4 April 2012 and 3 July 2014 he was State Secretary for Finance in the Fico's Second Cabinet. At the extraordinary assembly of the Smer-SD party on 28 June 2014, he became its new vice-chairman.[6] On 3 July 2014, after the resignation of the Minister of Education Dušan Čaplovič, President Andrej Kiska appointed him as the Minister for Education and Science.[5]

First mandate as Speaker of the National Council

On 25 November 2014, he was elected Speaker of the National Council, succeeding Pavol Paška.[8] In 2015, he was appointed Digital Champion of Slovakia, a European Union appointed position to promote the benefits of an inclusive digital society.[9]

Prime Minister of Slovakia

Made Deputy Prime Minister for Investments in 2016, under Prime Minister Robert Fico,[10] Pellegrini was sworn in as head of government after his predecessor resigned on 15 March 2018 in the wake of the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak.[11] President Andrej Kiska approved of Pellegrini's Cabinet on 21 March 2018;[12] 81 members of the National Council voted in favour of approving the cabinet the next week.[13] After serving as Acting Interior Minister in April 2018, Pellegrini temporarily took on the role of Finance Minister when Peter Kažimír left to become Governor of the National Bank of Slovakia in 2019.[14]

After about a year of assuming office, Pellegrini was on 3 May 2019 invited on reception by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and the 15th anniversary of Slovakia's entry into NATO.[15] During the meeting, they discussed issues of energy security, Nordstream 2, illegal migration and Ukraine. Trump praised Slovakia's steps to increase the defense budget by two percent within NATO.[16] Later, in December 2019, he assumed the office of Minister of Health after Andrea Kalavská resigned.[17]

His party lost the 2020 parliamentary election to the populist, anti-corruption party Ordinary People led by Igor Matovič.[18] On 16 March 2020, the government introduced measures against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia, introduced a state of emergency for state hospitals in Slovakia, closed all schools, limited movement of citizens, closed business establishments and introduced quarantine.[19]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as medical supplies began to dwindle, nations began competing for supplies outside their jurisdictions, either paying companies to reroute or seizing equipment intended for other countries. Pellegrini said he booked two million masks from Ukraine, the requirement was payment in cash. However, a German agent appeared, paid more for the masks, and bought them. Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to the situation by saying there was no country in Europe that would not hunt medical masks and respirators around the world.[20]

Second mandate as Speaker of the National Council

On 25 October 2023, he was re-elected Speaker of the National Council with 131 votes.[21]

Presidential candidacy

On 19 January 2024, after popularity by supporters[22] and support by his party Voice – Social Democracy as well as coalition partners Direction – Social Democracy, he announced his candidacy for the presidency.[23]

On 23 March 2024, he came second in the first round with 37.03% with career diplomat Ivan Korčok winning with 42.52% and retired lawyer and judge Štefan Harabin claiming third with 11.74%.[24] Soon after being second, he had claimed support from coalition partners SNS, whose leader Andrej Danko, withdrew from the first round, as well as unsuccessful candidates Krisztián Forró and Ján Kubiš.[25]

On 6 April 2024, in the second round, he won with 53.12% defeating Ivan Korčok with 46.88%.[26] On the day after the election, he confirmed that he will resign as leader of HLAS-SD and withdraw his membership of the party to honour the unwritten political tradition of the president being a nonpartisan officeholder.[27]

Presidency

His presidential inauguration took place on 15 June 2024 during a special session of the National Council in Bratislava.[28]

On 6 December 2025, in an interview with STVR, Pellegrini spoke out against EU-funded military aid to Ukraine claiming it was "prolonging the conflict which has devastating consequences for Ukraine" and that the money would be better spent on rebuilding the country following the end of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[29] Pellegrini urged his fellow European politicians to "speed up and support" the second Donald Trump administration efforts to end the Russo-Ukrainian War.[29] He also said that "today it is obvious to everyone that Ukraine, given the huge army and determination of the Russian military, is simply not able to win this war and push it off its territory."[29]

Presidential campaign-loan controversy

In January 2024, Pellegrini’s party Hlas – sociálna demokracia (Hlas) signed a loan agreement for €300,000 with the company Element Business, whose managing director is Pellegrini’s sister, Eva Pellegrini.[30] Under Slovak law, political parties are required to disclose loan agreements within 30 days of signing. Hlas did not meet this deadline and disclosed the loan only later in 2024, after external scrutiny.

The loan was repaid on 8 October 2024.[30] On 8 September 2025, the State Commission for Elections and Supervision of Political Parties’ Financing imposed a fine of €5,000 on Hlas for late disclosure.[30]

Transparency International Slovakia criticized the party for the delay and described the explanation offered—an “administrative error”—as insufficient to meet statutory transparency obligations.[31]

Further questions were raised when it was reported that Hlas transferred €250,000 to Pellegrini’s campaign account before the loan from Element Business had officially been received, raising concerns over compliance with Slovak campaign finance law.[32]

Personal life

Pellegrini has Italian ancestors.[33] His great-grandfather Leopoldo Pellegrini (1856–1942) of Salter (a Frazione of Romeno in the Trentino Region), which at the time was also part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, came to Slovakia to participate in the construction of the railway between Levice and Zvolen.[34]

In 2019, he described himself as a non-practising Catholic.[35]

Pellegrini is a bachelor.[36][37] In a 2020 interview with tabloid magazine Plus 7 dní, Pellegrini was asked whether he was gay, which he denied. The incident led to the resignation of the magazine's editor, who said that Pellegrini had intervened to stop the question from being published.[38][39]

Pellegrini owns a dog Gery, named after Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher.[40]

Outside of the Slovak language, he is fluent in English, German and Russian.[41]

Honours

National honours

  • Slovakia: Order of Andrej Hlinka[42]
  • Slovakia: Order of Ľudovít Štúr[42]
  • Slovakia: Milan Rastislav Štefánik Cross[42]
  • Slovakia: Pribina Cross[42]

References

  1. Back to citation Slovak pronunciation: [ˈpeter ˈpeleɡriːni]
  2. Back to citation "Peter Pellegrini, a close ally of the populist prime minister, is sworn in as Slovakia's president". The Independent. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  3. Back to citation "Chci silný stát, řekl Pellegrini v inauguračním projevu". ČT24 (in Czech). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 "Panellist | Peter Pellegrini". Globsec. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 "Novým ministrom školstva sa stal Peter Pellegrini". Slovak Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Sport. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  6. Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 "Parlamentu už šéfuje Pellegrini. "Za" hlasovala aj časť opozície". Trend. TREND Holding. SITA. 25 November 2014. ISSN 1336-2674. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  7. Back to citation Vladimíra Kucejová (27 January 2011). "Vážneho zákon zabral pôdu na cesty protiústavne". Pravda. Our Media SR a. s. ISSN 1336-197X. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  8. Back to citation "Novým predsedom parlamentu sa stal Peter Pellegrini" (in Slovak). Teraz. January 1970. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  9. Back to citation "The Digital Champion of Slovakia". European Commission. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  10. Back to citation "Robert Fico appointed for third time as Slovak PM". Xinhua. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  11. Back to citation "Reshuffled Slovak Cabinet Takes Office, Easing Crisis After Journalist's Murder". U.S. News. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  12. Back to citation "Slovak president approves new cabinet". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  13. Back to citation "Slovakia MPs okay cabinet despite calls for snap polls". The Sun Daily. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  14. Back to citation Hovet, Jason (4 April 2019). "Slovak PM to head finance ministry temporarily after Kazimir leaves". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  15. Back to citation Miroslav Čaplovič (7 March 2019). "Pellegrini sa má stretnúť s Trumpom. V Bielom dome". Pravda. Our Media SR a. s. ISSN 1336-197X. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  16. Back to citation Andrej Matišák (3 May 2019). "Trump prijal v Bielom dome premiéra Pellegriniho, rád by navštívil Slovensko". Pravda. Our Media SR a. s. ISSN 1336-197X. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  17. Back to citation Hajčáková, Daniela (17 December 2019). "Čaputová prijala Kalavskej demisiu, ministerstvo povedie Pellegrini". Sme. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  18. Back to citation "Anti-corruption party wins Slovakia election". BBC News. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020; "Slovakia election: seismic shift as public anger ousts dominant Smer-SD party". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 1 March 2020. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020; "Slovakia's anti-corruption opposition party wins election". Euronews. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020; Mortkowitz, Siegfried (29 February 2020). "Anti-corruption opposition wins Slovakia election". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  19. Back to citation TASR (12 March 2020). "Pellegrini: Uzatvárame školy, medzinárodné letiská, aj zábavné parky". teraz.sk. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  20. Back to citation Zubkova, Dasha (16 March 2020). "Ukraine Was Ready To Sell Slovakia 2 Million Medical Face Masks, But Order Was Cut Off – Prime Minister Of Slovakia Pellegrini". Ukrainian News. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  21. Back to citation "Pellegriniho zvolili za predsedu NR SR. O obštrukciu sa postaral Matovič, v rozprave mu tvrdo vynadal". Pravda (in Slovak). Our Media SR a. s. 25 October 2023. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  22. Back to citation Kerekes, Daniel (21 December 2023). "Podpora Pellegriniho rastie, aj keď neohlásil prezidentskú kandidatúru. Teraz by ho Korčok neporazil". Denník N (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  23. Back to citation "Predsedníctvo Hlasu schválilo kandidatúru Pellegriniho na prezidenta". Pravda (in Slovak). Our Media SR a. s. 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  24. Back to citation "Výsledky prezidentských volieb 2024 - 1. kolo". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  25. Back to citation "Slovakian Hungarian Alliance to Support Peter Pellegrini in Presidential Elections". Hungary Today (in Slovak). 28 March 2024. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  26. Back to citation "Voľby 2024 - Výsledky prezidentských volieb 2. kolo LIVE". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  27. Back to citation Massayová, Vanessa (7 April 2024). "Peter Pellegrini sa vzdá členstva aj predsedníctva v Hlase: Chcem dodržať nepísanú tradíciu". Start It Up (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  28. Back to citation Katuška, Michal; Vonšák, Martin (15 June 2024). "Inaugurácia Petra Pellegriniho: Sledujeme online menovanie nového prezidenta Slovenska". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press. TASR. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  29. Back to citation occurrence 29.0 Back to citation occurrence 29.1 Back to citation occurrence 29.2 "Slovak president opposes EU-funded military aid to Ukraine, as "it only prolongs war"". Ukrainska Pravda. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  30. Back to citation occurrence 30.0 Back to citation occurrence 30.1 Back to citation occurrence 30.2 Hlas fined €5,000 for late disclosure of campaign loan, Slovak Radio International, retrieved 18 September 2025.
  31. Back to citation When the President Breaks the Rules: Inside Pellegrini’s Hidden Campaign Funds, Slovak Monitor, retrieved 18 September 2025.
  32. Back to citation Pellegrini má ďalší problém s financovaním kampane, Refresher.sk, retrieved 18 September 2025.
  33. Back to citation "Deputy prime minister for investments: Peter Pellegrini (Smer)". The Slovak Spectator. Petit Press a.s. 22 March 2016. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  34. Back to citation Burčík, Matúš. "Prvý Pellegrini prišiel pred 130 rokmi. Syn bol v ruskom zajatí. Majetok im znárodnili". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press a.s. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  35. Back to citation Kekelák, Lukáš (14 March 2024). "Zahlasoval za obdobu registrovaných partnerstiev, Záborskú označil za protipotratovú džihádistku". Denník Postoj (in Slovak). POSTOJ MEDIA, s.r.o. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  36. Back to citation "Pellegrini: Slovakia's heartthrob politician to be new PM". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 15 March 2018. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  37. Back to citation Dlhopolec, Peter (5 January 2024). "Danko seeks to make Pellegrini's sexuality a topic ahead of presidential race". The Slovak Spectator. Petit Press a.s. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  38. Back to citation "A chief editor quits over Pellegrini's intervention in a to-be-published interview". The Slovak Spectator. Petit Press a.s. 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  39. Back to citation Hron, Jan (19 February 2020). "Pellegrini měl zcenzurovat rozhovor. Nelíbila se mu otázka, zda je gay". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Mafra. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  40. Back to citation "Pellegrini ukázal Geryho a prezradil, čo doteraz vedeli len jeho najbližší: Toto je môj miláčik!". Nový čas (in Slovak). FPD Media, a.s. 24 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  41. Back to citation "President of the Slovak Republic | Biography". President of the Slovak Republic. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  42. Back to citation occurrence 42.0 Back to citation occurrence 42.1 Back to citation occurrence 42.2 Back to citation occurrence 42.3 "Pellegrini už má vyznamenania. Stratil by ich len v prípade odsúdenia". Sme. Petit Press. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
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