Presidency 2019–present Pendarovski ran in the 2019 election as a presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia and the Democratic Union for Integration. He went on to win 436,212 votes in the second round of the presidential election, 51.66% of the votes cast. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pendarovski introduced the nation's first ever state of emergency to contain the coronavirus, a move that paved the way for a 2022 parliamentary election. Pendarovski was seen walking with an 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome to school after he heard she was being bullied. President Stevo Pendarovski held Embla Ademi's hand as he walked her to her elementary school in the city of Gostivar in February 2022. Personal life Pendarovski is married to Elizabeta Gjorgievska, a medical doctor who works at the Clinic for Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry and a professor at the Faculty of Dentistry in Skopje. They have one child, named Ognen. References 1963 births 21st-century Macedonian politicians Living people Politicians from Skopje Presidents of North Macedonia Social Democratic Union of Macedonia politicians Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje alumni