Mikuláš Dzurinda

File:Mikuláš Dzurinda.jpg

400px

Mikuláš Dzurinda (born 4th of February,1955 in Spišský Štvrtok) is a Slovak politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1998 to 2006. He is the founder and leader of the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) and then the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ). Dzurinda later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Prime Minister Iveta Radičová's coalition government from 2010 to 2012. In 2013 Dzurinda was elected as President of the Centre for European Studies, the think-tank of the European People's Party, succeeding Wilfried Martens.

Political career

Dzurinda was one of the founding members of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) in 1990. After the first democratic general election in Czechoslovakia in 1990 he became the Deputy Minister of Transportation and Posts of the Slovak Government (1991). In 1992 he became a member of the Slovak parliament (National Council of the Slovak Republic, and worked as a member of the Committee for Budget and Finance). At the time of the split of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of an independent Slovakia (1993) he was KDH Deputy Chairman responsible for economy. In 1994 Dzurinda was the Minister of Transportation, Posts and Public Works. Following the 1994 general election, won by Vladimír Mečiar, he returned to the opposition benches in the parliament. In 1998 he established the Democratic Coalition (SDK) and his political party won the Parliamentary elections. In 1998 he became the Prime Minister of SVK. Under Dzurinda's leadership Slovakia managed to re-enter integration processes and registered a political comeback in relations both with the European Union and trans-Atlantic economic and political structures. The success of the reforms he managed Slovakia to entry into the OECD 2000. In January 2000 he founded a new political party, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), which he has chaired since. In the election in 2002, SDKU won the general election he was given the opportunity to again form the Slovak government. The Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK-MKP), Christian Democratic Union (KDH) and the Alliance of the New Citizen (ANO) have joined the SDKU in the ruling coalition. Mikuláš Dzurinda's 2nd government was the most effective one in economic matters in Slovakia since 1993. During his term Slovakia joined both the European Union and NATO. Momentally he is member of the Klub SDKÚ–DS, the Foreign Affairs Committee and of the Permanent Delegation of the Slovak Parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Education

He graduated from the College of Transport and Communications in Žilina in 1979. In 1988, he completed his post-graduate scientific research there and was awarded with a Candidate of Sciences (CSc.) degree.

Notable Works

Dzurinda has lectured at North American and European universities, and to both experts and public audiences. He is a strong advocate of trans-Atlantic ties. He has met and talked personally to leading foreign politicians, including U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, European Commission President Romano Prodi, NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson, and several influential US senators. Under his leadership, the Visegrad Group between (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) was revived. Dzurinda serves on the Leadership Council for Concordia,a nonpartisan, nonprofit based in New York City focused on promoting effective public-private collaboration to create a more prosperous and sustainable future.

References

European People´s Party Article on the Slovak Spectator

External links

Official Webpage Profile