President of Slovakia

History of the office

The office was established by the constitution of Slovakia on 1 January 1993 when Slovakia permanently split from Czechoslovakia and became independent. The office was vacant until 2 March 1993, when the first president Michal Kováč was elected by the National Council of Slovak Republic. However, in 1998, the National Council was unable to elect a successor to Kováč. As a result,  for half a year after Kováč's term ended in March 1998, the position was vacant. The duties and powers of the office devolved upon the then prime minister and speaker of the National Council. To resolve the issue, the constitution was changed to provide for popular election of the president. Presidential elections have been held in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019.
The current president is Zuzana Čaputová, who took office on 15 June 2019.

Role and powers

The President of Slovakia has a limited role in policy-making, as the office is largely ceremonial within the framework of a parliamentary republic. According to the constitution, the president is the supreme representative of the state both in Slovakia and abroad.
The president represents the Slovak Republic externally and concludes and ratifies international treaties. He or she may delegate to the Government or, with the Government's consent, to individual members of the Slovak Republic, the conclusion of international treaties. Historically all Slovak presidents delegated this power to the Government. Technically it is officially done by Decision of President No. 250/2001 Coll. (which superseded Decision of President No. 205/1993 Coll.), which is still in effect.
Among the President's constitutional powers are nominating and appointing the Prime Minister. The president's choice is not limited, but by constitution the president through his decisions ensures due performance of constitutional bodies. Because the government of whoever is appointed prime minister must receive a vote of confidence in parliament, the President usually appoints the leader of the winning party or coalition in parliamentary elections.
The President has sole discretion to appoint three members of the judicial council, one member of the Budget Council, and two members of the council of the Nation's Memory Institute; to award distinctions, to appoint the President and Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (from among the Constitutional Court judges), and to grant pardon or parole.
The president can also veto any bill or proposal by the National Council, except for constitutional amendments. This veto can be overridden if the National Council passes the same bill again with a majority of all members of the Council, so this power is considered quite weak.
The president also acts as the commander-in-chief of the Slovak armed forces, but this role is ceremonial, because by the constitution when the President acts as the commander-in-chief his or her decision is valid only after it is signed by the Prime Minister or a minister authorized by the Prime Minister, and in such cases the Government is responsible for the President's decision. The same applies to grants of amnesty and appointments of chiefs of diplomatic missions.
Among their other constitutional duties are signing bills into law, appointing ministers on the recommendation of the prime minister, and appointing various other state officials: generals, professors, judges, rectors, procurators and the like.
The President has discretionary power (he can refuse appointment) over the appointments of some officials. For example, there have been cases when the president has refused to appoint vice-governors of the National Bank of Slovakia recommended by government. These actions of the president were confirmed by the Constitutional Court.
In many cases the appointment of state officials is regulated by other laws. For example, the President's power to appoint constitutional judges is limited to selection from nominees voted by the National Council, from which President has to appoint half. The appointment or recall of judges is determined by decisions of the Judicial Council, which submits its proposals to the President.
Presidential powers are substantially increased in the special circumstance when the National Council passes a vote of no confidence in the government. In such a case, many executive powers of government (e.g. appointment of officials, foreign trips, signing treates) are subject to the approval of the president.

Living former Presidents

There are three living former Slovak Presidents: