Peter Pellegrini facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter Pellegrini
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 Informatization 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	(1975-10-06) 6 October 1975 (age 49) Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia)
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Direction – Social Democracy (2000–2020) Voice – Social Democracy (2020–2024)
Residence	Grassalkovich Palace
Alma mater	Matej Bel University Technical University of Košice (Ing.)
Website	President of the Slovak Republic

Peter Pellegrini (born 6 October 1975) is a Slovak politician. He became the sixth President of Slovakia in 2024. Before that, he was the Prime Minister of Slovakia from 2018 to 2020.

Pellegrini has held many important roles in the Slovak government. He was the Minister of Health for a short time. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education and Science. He was even the Speaker of the National Council (Slovak Parliament) twice.

He used to be a member of the political party called Direction – Social Democracy. Later, he left that party and helped create a new one, Voice – Social Democracy, which he led until recently. In January 2024, he decided to run for president. He won the election in April 2024 and started his term as president on 15 June 2024.

Peter Pellegrini is the first Slovak politician to have held the three highest positions in the country: President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of Parliament.

Early Life and Education

Peter Pellegrini was born in Banská Bystrica, which is now in Slovakia. He studied economics at two universities: Matej Bel University and the Technical University of Košice. His studies focused on banking, investments, and finance.

From 2002 to 2006, he worked as an economist. He also served as an advisor to a member of the National Council.

Political Career Highlights

Starting in Politics

Pellegrini began his political journey in 2002. He was 26 years old when he first ran for parliament. He joined the Direction – Social Democracy party.

In the 2006 parliamentary election, he was elected as a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. During his time in parliament, he worked on committees related to health, national security, and legal matters. He was re-elected in 2010 and 2012.

From 2012 to 2014, he served as the State Secretary for Finance. In 2014, he became the new vice-chairman of his party. Later that year, he was appointed as the Minister for Education and Science.

First Time as Speaker of Parliament

On 25 November 2014, Peter Pellegrini was chosen to be the Speaker of the National Council. This means he led the meetings of the Slovak Parliament.

In 2015, he was named the Digital Champion of Slovakia. This was a special role given by the European Union to help people understand and use digital technology.

Serving as Prime Minister

Peter Pellegrini as Prime Minister, speaking to the European Parliament in March 2019.

In 2016, Pellegrini became the Deputy Prime Minister for Investments. In March 2018, he became the Prime Minister of Slovakia. This happened after the previous Prime Minister resigned due to public events. President Andrej Kiska approved Pellegrini's government on 21 March 2018.

As Prime Minister, he also temporarily held other ministerial roles. For example, he was the Acting Interior Minister and later the Acting Finance Minister. In December 2019, he also served as the Minister of Health.

Peter Pellegrini as Prime Minister, meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in May 2019.

In May 2019, Prime Minister Pellegrini visited the United States. He met with President Donald Trump at the White House. They talked about important topics like energy safety, migration, and the country of Ukraine. President Trump praised Slovakia for increasing its defense spending for NATO.

His party did not win the 2020 parliamentary election. On 16 March 2020, his government introduced measures to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia. These included closing schools and businesses and limiting people's movement.

Second Time as Speaker of Parliament

On 25 October 2023, Peter Pellegrini was again elected as the Speaker of the National Council. He received 131 votes from the members of parliament.

Running for President

On 19 January 2024, Peter Pellegrini announced that he would run for president. He had strong support from his party, Voice – Social Democracy, and other political partners.

In the first round of the election on 23 March 2024, he came in second place. In the second round, held on 6 April 2024, he won the election with 53.12% of the votes. The day after winning, he announced that he would step down as the leader of his party. This is a tradition for presidents in Slovakia, who are expected to be non-partisan.

Presidency

Peter Pellegrini as President at the NATO summit in Washington D.C., July 2024.

Peter Pellegrini officially became the President of Slovakia on 15 June 2024. His inauguration ceremony took place during a special meeting of the National Council in Bratislava.

Personal Life

Peter Pellegrini has Italian family roots. His great-grandfather came to Slovakia from Italy to help build a railway.

He describes himself as a non-practising Catholic.

Pellegrini is unmarried. He owns a dog named Gery, which is named after a character from The Witcher.

Honours and Awards

Peter Pellegrini has received several important awards from Slovakia:

• Order of Andrej Hlinka
• Order of Ľudovít Štúr
• Milan Rastislav Štefánik Cross
• Pribina Cross

Images for kids

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  A robot for kids.

See also

In Spanish: Peter Pellegrini para niños