Igor Matovič

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Igor Matovic
)

Igor Matovič
Matovič in 2020
Prime Minister of Slovakia
In office
21 March 2020 – 1 April 2021
PresidentZuzana Čaputová
Deputy
See list
Preceded by
Slovakia
Assumed office
28 October 2011
Preceded byOffice established
Personal details
Born (1973-05-11) 11 May 1973 (age 50)
Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (2011–present)
Other political
affiliations
Independent (2010–2011)
Spouse
Pavlína Matovičová
(m. 1999)
Children2 daughters
Alma materComenius University (Mgr.)

Igor Matovič (born 11 May 1973) is a Slovak politician and former businessman. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia and

Minister of Finance
from April 2021 to December 2022 and Prime Minister from March 2020 to March 2021.

Born in

Ordinary People (Obyčajní ľudia) movement in 2011, which ran on an anti-corruption platform and was politically aligned with the centre right. His anti-corruption campaigning has been marked by "publicity stunts to shine a light on alleged graft",[1] particularly focusing on parliamentary privileges and bribery
.

In the

.

As of 2022, Matovič is the most distrusted Slovak political figure in the Slovak public, with a 91% distrust score.[2]

Early life and business career

Igor Matovič was born in Trnava on 11 May 1973. In 1993, he began to study at the Faculty of Management at Comenius University, graduating in 1998.[3] However, as Matovič admitted in 2021, he plagiarized his diploma thesis.[4]

He founded a business in 1997 and worked as the chief executive of a local media publishing house from 2002 to 2010. Matovič later signed over his assets to his wife, Pavlína (née Repaska).[citation needed] Agence France-Presse described him as an "eccentric self-made millionaire and former media boss" who had become "a media-savvy but unpredictable politician".[5]

Political career

In 2010, Matovič founded the

Smer-SD.[6]

As leader of OĽaNO, Matovič attracted attention by campaigning against corruption. To oppose parliamentary immunity, he parked his car on a pedestrian crossing and showed his parliamentary pass to police who tried to tow it;[8] to oppose corruption, he took a polygraph test stating that he had never accepted bribes.[9] However, Robert Fico accused Matovič of impropriety in effecting a fictitious sale of the regionPRESS business for 122 million Slovak koruna to employee Pavel Vandák, who supposedly got the money from an internal account. Matovič denies this.[6]

Prime Minister of Slovakia

Matovič's party OĽaNO got the plurality of votes in the

new cabinet's composition was revealed on 18 March and was sworn in on 21 March.[12][13][14]

Sociologist of the Bratislava Policy Institute, Michal Vašečka, stated that "Matovič has started to transform the anger of the society into a class war: city vs. countryside, educated vs. uneducated, common people vs. the elites." He suggested that it would result in political polarization.[15]

Plagiarism controversy

In July 2020, Matovič admitted to plagiarizing his masters' thesis after an investigation from Denník N found that entire pages and charts were lifted from the sources. He said he would step down after all his election promises were fulfilled.[16] Comenius University in Bratislava confirmed the plagiarism of the master's thesis.[17]

Government crisis and resignation

In March 2021, MP and chair of the parliamentary European affairs committee

OĽANO becoming Prime Minister.[19]

As a result of the plagiarism scandal and government crisis, Matovič's approval rating tanked from 64% in April 2020[20] to 15% in April 2021.[21]

Minister of finance

Following the government crisis and his resignation as PM, Matovič was appointed Minister of Finance in the newly-formed

Cabinet of Eduard Heger.[22]

Personal life

Matovič is married to Pavlína Matovičová, with whom he has two daughters.

References

  1. . Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Poll: Sulík's approval rating has fallen to a record low". domov.sme.sk (in Slovak). Petit Press a.s. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  3. .
  4. ^ "Prime Minister publicly admits plagiarizing his diploma thesis". rtvs.sk. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Slovakia election: seismic shift as public anger ousts dominant Smer-SD party". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Igor Matovič". Webnoviny.sk. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  7. ^ Michaela Terenzani-Stanková (10 February 2011). "Coalition loses another MP". The Slovak Spectator. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Matovič zaparkoval na priechode, mobilizoval pred referendom". SME. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  9. ^ Cameron, Rob (4 March 2020). "Europe's Mr Ordinary prepares for power". BBC News. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Slovakia: the end of Smer's rule, the triumph of Igor Matovič". OSW Centre for Eastern Studies. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Slovak election winner secures four-party coalition with cabinet deal". Reuters. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. TASR
    . 17 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  13. TASR
    . 18 March 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  14. ^ Brokaw, Sommer. "Igor Matovic sworn in as Slovakia's prime minister". UPI. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  15. ^ Sirotnikova, Miroslava German (5 August 2020). "Jan Kuciak: A Murder That Changed Slovakia". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Prime Minister Matovič is a plagiarist too". The Slovak Spectator. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Aj škola si prezrela Matovičovu diplomovku. Verdikt - doslovne odpísaná". Pravda (in Slovak). 27 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Another MP quits coalition after Sputnik landing". The Slovak Spectator. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Slovak president appoints Eduard Heger as prime minister". Reuters. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  20. ^ "President Zuzana Caputova most trusted politician in Slovakia". Kafkadesk. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  21. ^ "President Caputova most trusted politician in Slovakia, poll shows". Kafkadesk. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Who will stay and who will be replaced in the new government?". The Slovak Spectator. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

External links