Peter Kmec

Peter Kmec
Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia
for European Union Subsidies and the Recovery Plan
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 October 2023
Prime MinisterRobert Fico
Preceded byLívia Vašáková
Member of the National Council
In office
20 March 2020 – 25 October 2023
Ambassadorial Positions
In office
2007–2018
2012–2018United States
2007–2012Sweden
Personal details
Born (1966-11-11) 11 November 1966 (age 58)
Nitra, Czechoslovakia
Political partyVoice – Social Democracy (since 2020)
Other political
affiliations		Direction – Social Democracy (until 2020)
Alma materMoscow State Institute of International Relations

Peter Kmec (born 11 November 1966) is a Slovak diplomat and politician who has served as the Deputy Prime Minister for European Funding of Slovakia since 2023.

Early life

Kmec was born on 11 November 1966 in Nitra.[1] Between 1985 and 1990, he studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.[2] Kmec was the ambassador of Slovakia to Sweden from 2007 until 2012, later the United States from 2012 until 2018.[3][4]

Political career

In 2020, Kmec was elected as an MP of the National Council of Slovakia on the list of Direction – Social Democracy.[5] Soon after the election, he joined the Voice – Social Democracy party, which split from Smer.[6]

As a member of Voice, Kmec served as the main foreign policy expert, until a video was published by a Smer activist showing Kmec agreeing with government foreign policy experts in the need for pro-Western focus of Slovak politics. The video was used by Smer to accuse Voice of planning to form government with liberal parties, rather than pro-Russian Smer after the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election. As a result, Kmec lost his position as the Voice foreign policy expert.[7] Following the election, Kmec became deputy prime minister as well as Minister of European Union Subsidies and the Recovery Plan in Fico's Fourth Cabinet.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Peter Kmec | vicepremiér pre plán obnovy". Sme (in Slovak). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Kancelária podpredsedu vlády SR | Plán obnovy". www.planobnovy.sk. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Švédsko: Slovenský veľvyslanec Peter Kmec sa ujal funkcie" (in Slovak). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Bývalí veľvyslanci". MZV.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Voľby 2020: Toto sú zvolení poslanci za Smer-SD". Hospodárske noviny (in Slovak). 1 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Poslanci okolo Pellegriniho nebudú mať vlastný klub v parlamente". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  7. ^ Mikušovič, Dušan (17 April 2023). "V Hlase sa zľakli videa mládežníčky zo Smeru a odstavili svojho experta na zahraničnú politiku Kmeca". Denník N (in Slovak). Retrieved 23 May 2024.