Andrej Danko (born 12 August 1974) is a Slovak politician who was the speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic from 2016 to 2020 and Chairman of the nationalist Slovak National Party since 2012.
Andrej Danko | |
|---|---|
 Danko in 2018 | |
| Speaker of the National Council | |
| In office 23 March 2016 – 20 March 2020 | |
| President | Andrej Kiska Zuzana Čaputová |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Peter Pellegrini |
| Succeeded by | Boris Kollár |
| Deputy Speaker of the National Council | |
| Assumed office 25 October 2023 | |
| Speaker | Peter Pellegrini Peter Žiga (acting) |
| Member of the National Council | |
| Assumed office 25 October 2023 | |
| In office 23 March 2016 – 20 March 2020 | |
| Chair of Slovak National Party | |
| Assumed office 6 October 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Ján Slota |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 August 1974 Revúca, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) |
| Political party | Slovak National Party |
| Spouse |
Silvia Žiaková
(m. 1999; div. 2014) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Comenius University (JUDr.) |
Early life
editBorn in Revúca, Danko studied at the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava.[1]
Career
editAfter compulsory military service, Danko founded several commercial companies and worked as an independent lawyer.[1]
Between 2006 and 2010, Danko was an assistant in the National Council of Slovakia and a member of several parliamentary commissions. He became first vice-president of the Slovak National Party in 2010. In 2012, he became the chairman of the party after getting support from many of the party's members, succeeding Ján Slota.[1]
On 23 March 2016, Danko was elected Speaker of the National Council.[2] He later called for the burqa to be banned in Slovakia.[3][4]
Promotion to the rank of Captain in Reserve
editIn September 2016, while in his position as the Speaker of the Parliament, Danko was promoted by eight ranks (from OR-4 to O-2), to Captain in Reserve of the Slovak Army, by Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš. The promotion was viewed by as a sign of corrupt government as a promotion by eight ranks has never happened in the history of Slovak Army, not at all to someone who has only joined mandatory national service for the period of one year. On 29 April 2020, Minister of Defence Jaroslav Naď canceled his rank.[5][6][7]
Plagiarism allegations
editIn 2018, Danko was accused of plagiarism of his doctoral thesis at Matej Bel University in 2000. When media showed interest in his thesis, he asked the university to ban public access to it. Following public pressure, Danko removed the ban after one month and the university library allowed the public to see the thesis, but not to take pictures of it.[8] The university set up a commission to review his thesis later that November.[9] According to the conclusion published by the commission in January 2019, the rigorous procedure met valid regulations, but the thesis contains parts that only slightly differ from original sources, most of the thesis is the same to a large extent and it preserves also the structure of sources without proper citation or paraphrasing.[10]
Personal life
editDanko lost his driver's license on Wednesday, 17 January 2024. This happened six days after a traffic accident in which he damaged a traffic light column in Bratislava's Dúbravka at the intersection of Saratovská and Repašská streets.[11] He told JOJ 24 that he ran away from the scene of the accident, which happened at 11:21 p.m. He justified his action with the words "...because I can't write a report with a column".[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Andrej Danko". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ^ "Andrej Danko elected as new Slovak Parliament chairman". Xinhua News Agency. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ "Danko bans burqas, although nobody wears them in Slovakia". The Slovak Spectator. 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Politicians see proposed burqa ban in Slovakia as premature". Radio and Television of Slovakia. 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Danko: Na hodnosť kapitán som hrdý, zaslúžim si ju". Pravda (in Slovak). 19 January 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ^ "Internet oslavuje novú hodnosť predsedu SNS vtipnými obrázkami: Kapitán Danko, pozor na ľadovec!". Nový čas (in Slovak). Ringier Slovakia. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ^ Snidl, Vladimír (19 January 2017). "Andreja Danka povýšil minister obrany za SNS na kapitána (Video)". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ^ "Denník N: Danko is a plagiarist". The Slovak Spectator. Petit Press. 16 November 2018.
- ^ Štefúnová, Ivana (13 November 2018). "Dankova rigorózna práca nedáva univerzite spávať". Pravda (in Slovak). Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ Vyhlásenie účelovej komisie Akademického senátu Univerzity Mateja Bela na preskúmanie podozrení na plagiátorstvo rigoróznych prác UMB (in Slovak), Matej Bel University, 9 January 2019
- ^ Pravda.sk (17 January 2024). "Danko prišiel o vodičák. Magistrát prezradil, akú sumu od neho bude chcieť za poškodený semafor".
- ^ Zavřel, Andrej (12 January 2024). "Andrej Danko o nehode: So stĺpom neviem spísať udalosť".
External links
edit
Media related to Andrej Danko at Wikimedia Commons