Prime Minister of Slovakia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chairman of the Government of the Slovak Republic
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)

The Prime Minister of Slovakia is the main leader of the Slovak government. Their official title is the Chairman of the Government of the Slovak Republic. In Slovak, people often call them Predseda vlády or Premiér.

Even though the President and the chairman of the National Council (Parliament) are officially higher, the Prime Minister is usually the most important political figure in the country.

The position of Prime Minister was created in 1969. Since Slovakia became an independent country in 1993, nine different people have held this job. The current Prime Minister, Robert Fico, took office on October 25, 2023.

History of the Prime Minister's Role

The role of Prime Minister in Slovakia began in 1969. This happened when the country was part of Czechoslovakia. Before that, similar leaders existed in different Slovak governments since 1918.

Slovakia became an independent country on January 1, 1993. Since then, the Prime Minister has been the head of the government. Vladimír Mečiar was the first Prime Minister of the independent Slovak Republic.

Robert Fico is the current Prime Minister. He has served the longest time in this role if you add up all his terms. As of 2025, he has been Prime Minister for a total of 11 years.

What the Prime Minister Does

Slovakia is a parliamentary republic. This means the Prime Minister and the government are responsible to the National Council (Parliament). The Slovak Constitution says that a Prime Minister must have the Parliament's support. They need to gain this support when they start their job and keep it afterwards.

If the Prime Minister loses the Parliament's support, the President must remove them. The President then chooses a new Prime Minister. Sometimes, the removed Prime Minister might stay on as a temporary leader with limited powers.

The Prime Minister is a very powerful position in Slovakia. They lead and manage the government. While the President officially appoints government ministers, they do so based on the Prime Minister's suggestions.

Becoming the Prime Minister

Sometimes, a person is called the "Designated Prime Minister of Slovakia." This is an unofficial title. It means the President has asked this person to form a new government. This happens when the old Prime Minister is leaving.

This tradition is not written in a law. Instead, it's a long-standing practice. The President usually chooses someone who has the support of most members in the National Council. This helps ensure the new government will be strong.

Prime Ministers of the Slovak Republic (since 1993)

Here is a list of the Prime Ministers who have served since Slovakia became an independent country in 1993.

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, 280 days		Smer	Fico IV	Smer • Hlas • SNS	2023
										Peter Pellegrini (2024-incumbent)

Timeline

Slovak Republic (1993–present)

See also

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