Michal Kováč

Michal Kováč (5 August 1930 – 5 October 2016) was the first President of Slovakia.

Spouse Emília Kováčová

He graduated from the present-day University of Economics in Bratislava and was a bank employee of the Státní banka československá and of other banks. As such, he spent some years in London and in Cuba in the 1960s. During the Normalization he was subject to some persecution.

During and after the Velvet Revolution, from 12 December 1989 to 17 May 1991 (when he resigned) he was the Finance Minister of the Slovak (Socialist) Republic.

In early 1991, he was one of the founders and the vice-chairman of theMovement for a Democratic Slovakia. As such, he was elected as a deputy to the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia in 1990. After the 1992 electionhe served as the Chairman of the Federal Assembly from 25 June to 31 December 1992. He played an important role in the process of the preparation of the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

He was elected president by the National Council of Slovakia in February 1993 (because he was a candidate of the biggest parliamentary party—theMovement for a Democratic Slovakia) and inaugurated on 2 March 1993. He soon became a strong opponent of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar and by giving a critical presidential address to parliament in March 1994, Kováč significantly contributed to the deposition of the then Mečiar government and the creation of the Moravčík government (which only lasted until the nextparliamentary election in the autumn of 1994).

In 1995 the Mečiar-Kováč conflict intensified and the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia cancelled Kováč's (formal) membership in the party. In August 1995 Kováč's son, who had been accused of financial crimes by German authorities (the accusation was later canceled), was apparently kidnapped and taken to Austria. The president, opposition parties and Austrian court accused the Slovak intelligence service (SIS) and the government of having organized this kidnapping. The investigation of new secret intelligence service director Mitro and Slovak police after collapse of Meciar's regime in the end of 1999 confirmed the participation of SIS on this kidnap but the Slovak justice rejected the trial with its suspected actors because of amnesty (also called self-amnesty) issued by Vladimir Meciar on 3 March 1998.

Kováč's term ended on 2 March 1998. His candidature in the first directSlovak presidential election, 1999 was unsuccessful. He has not been very visible in Slovak politics since this time and has appeared only at a few symbolic events.

On 10 July 2008 the Slovak media reported that Kováč probably suffered from Parkinson's disease. The former president did not confirm this information but admitted that he has some health problems.

Honours

•  Slovakia: Grand Master and Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross
• In 1993, Kovac became the first winner of the Golden Biatec Award, the highest award bestowed by Slovakia’s Informal Economic Forum - Economic Club.