Vladimír Meciar
Encyclopedia
Vladimír Mečiar is a Slovak
politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1998. He is the leader of the People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
(ĽS-HZDS). Mečiar led Slovakia to disengagement from the Czech Republic
in January 1993 and was one of the leading presidential candidates in Slovakia in 1999 and 2004. He has been criticised by his opponents as well as by Western political organisations for having an autocratic style of administration.
in 1942 as the eldest of four boys. His father was a tailor, and his mother a housewife. His wife Margita is a medical doctor and he has four children. Starting in the Communist Party of Slovakia
, the only road to prominence in Communist Czechoslovakia
, he became committee chairman in the town of Žiar nad Hronom
, only to be dismissed in the year after the 1968 Warsaw Pact
invasion of Czechoslovakia
, when he delivered a pro-reform speech to the national congress in 1969 and was thrown out. A year later he was also expelled from the Communist Party and then added to the Communist Party Central Committee's long list of enemies of the socialist regime. He put himself through the Faculty of Law of the Comenius University while working in a glass factory.
In late 1989, during the fast-paced 1989 anti-Communist Velvet Revolution
, he entered the new political party, Public Against Violence
(Verejnosť proti násiliu, VPN), which was the Slovak counterpart to the better-known Czech Civic Forum
. On 11 January 1990, when the VPN was looking for professionals to participate in the government of Slovakia, Mečiar was appointed the new Minister of the Interior and Environment of Slovakia on a recommendation of Alexander Dubček
, who was impressed by Mečiar‘s thorough knowledge in all relevant fields.
After the first democratic elections in Czecho-Slovakia in June 1990, he was named Slovak premier (representing the VPN) of a coalition government of VPN and the Christian Democratic Movement
. He advocated economic reform and continued federation with the Czechs.
In 1990 the political landscape of the Czech Republic
and Slovakia
started to develop and many new political parties were formed, mainly from the Civic Forum and the VPN. By the end of 1990, some of Mečiar‘s partners in the VPN began distancing themselves from him. First, the party split into two fractions in early March 1991: the Mečiar supporters (mostly members of his cabinet) and Mečiar opponents (led by the VPN chairman Fedor Gál). On 23 April 1991, the Presidium of the Slovak parliament (Slovak National Council
) deposed him as premier of Slovakia and he was replaced by Ján Čarnogurský
, the leader of the Christian Democratic Movement. Three days later, the VPN officially split in two: the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the remaining VPN (since October 1991 called ODÚ-VPN, later just ODÚ
). Mečiar was elected HZDS chairman in June 1991. The official reason given by the ODÚ for this split was that Mečiar had become a "dictator".
in the Czech Republic and the HZDS led by Vladimír Mečiar in Slovakia. Before and shortly after this election, the HZDS supported the creation of a looser federation—a confederation—between the two republics. However, its Czech counterpart wanted an even more centralised Czechoslovakia than was the case in 1992 or two separate countries. Since these two concepts were irreconcilable, Mečiar and Klaus agreed (after intense negotiations, but without having consulted the population in a referendum) on 23 July in Bratislava
to dissolve Czecho-Slovakia and to create two independent states. As a result, Mečiar and Klaus became the premiers of two independent states on 1 January 1993.
) and the opposition parties created a new government under Jozef Moravčík
's lead. However, after the elections held at the turn of September and October 1994, in which his HZDS won 35% of the vote, he became prime minister again - in a coalition with the far-right Slovak National Party headed by the controversial Ján Slota
, and the radical-left Združenie robotníkov Slovenska headed by the colourful Ján Ľupták, a mason (with leaving examination
as he always points out).
During the following period, he was constantly criticized by his opponents and Western countries for an autocratic style of administration, lack of respect for democracy, misuse of state media for propaganda, corruption (which is still prevalent today) and the shady privatisation of national companies that occurred during his rule. Privatisation during the 1990s in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic was harmed by widespread unlawful asset stripping
(also described by the journalistic term of tunnelling).
At the same time Mečiar was at permanent "war" with the then-President of Slovakia, Michal Kováč
. He was also blamed for having engaged the Slovak secret service
(SIS) in the abduction
of the President’s son Michal Jr. — wanted on a warrant for a financial crime in Germany — to Hainburg Austria in August 1995, but his guilt has not been proven. However, after Kovač's term expired in March 1998 the Slovak parliament was unable to elect a successor, so Mečiar also temporarily assumed the role of acting president. As president, he issued an amnesty for some of those accused of the abduction. As a result, Slovakia under his rule became partially isolated from the West and the pace of EU and NATO accession negotiations was much slower than in the case of neighboring countries, although Mečiar supported both EU and NATO membership for his country and submitted Slovakia's applications to both organisations. In 2000, Mečiar was arrested by Slovakian police on charges of fraud dating from his term in office.
Mečiar and HZDS narrowly won the September 1998 election (the single largest party with 27% of the vote). However, he was unable to create a coalition, and Mikuláš Dzurinda
from the opposition became the new Prime Minister. Afterwards, Mečiar was one of the two leading candidates for the first direct election of the president of Slovakia in 1999, but he was defeated by Rudolf Schuster
. In 2000, Mečiar‘s HZDS was renamed "People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia".
In 2000 Mečiar ostensibly gave up his political ambitions. His HZDS colleague Augustín Marián Húska said: "The NATO-War against Yugoslavia in 1999 was also a signal to us, to not pursue any vision of political independence anymore. We have seen what will happen to forces that want to be independent."
Mečiar was heavily favoured to win the 2002 election, even though it was thought that if he became prime minister again, it would end any chance of Slovakia getting into the EU. The 2002 elections saw the HZDS score the highest percentage (20%) again. However, as in 1998, no other party was willing to serve under him. The result was another term in government for Dzurinda. The lower percentage of Mečiar's HZDS (20%) compared to the 1998 result was due to internal disputes within the organization shortly before the election, which caused many traditional HZDS members to leave the party. Some of them created the HZD (Movement for Democracy
) party led by Ivan Gašparovič
. In 2003, further traditional HZDS members left the party and most of them created the People's Union
(Ľudová únia).
In the 2004 presidential election Mečiar again tried to become Slovak president, but he was defeated in the second round by his former long-standing ally Ivan Gašparovič. In 2006 Parliamentary election
in Slovakia, HZDS suffered the worst election result in its history (8.79%), leading Mečiar to request an examination of the election results. While HZDS became part of Robert Fico
's coalition, Mečiar himself was not named to cabinet. He declined to get involved in the 2009 presidential election
but also denied that he was considering political retirement.
In the Slovak parliamentary election, 2010
Mečiar's HZDS did not receive enough votes to reach the parliament
for the first time in its history.
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Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1998. He is the leader of the People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
The People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia , abbreviated to ĽS-HZDS or usually HZDS, is a national conservative political party in Slovakia...
(ĽS-HZDS). Mečiar led Slovakia to disengagement from the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
in January 1993 and was one of the leading presidential candidates in Slovakia in 1999 and 2004. He has been criticised by his opponents as well as by Western political organisations for having an autocratic style of administration.
Czechoslovakia
He was born in ZvolenZvolen
Zvolen |Slatina]] rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. With its ancient castle, the town has a historical center, which represents the seat of an okres .-History:...
in 1942 as the eldest of four boys. His father was a tailor, and his mother a housewife. His wife Margita is a medical doctor and he has four children. Starting in the Communist Party of Slovakia
Communist Party of Slovakia (1939)
The Communist Party of Slovakia was a communist party in Slovakia. It was formed in March 1939, when the Slovak Republic was created, as the Slovak branches of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia were separated from the mother party...
, the only road to prominence in Communist Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 until end of 1989 , a Soviet satellite state of the Eastern Bloc....
, he became committee chairman in the town of Žiar nad Hronom
Žiar nad Hronom
Žiar nad Hronom is a town in Banská Bystrica Region, Slovakia.-Geography:It is located in the Žiar Basin, on the Hron river, around 40 km from Banská Bystrica and 170 km from Bratislava...
, only to be dismissed in the year after the 1968 Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
invasion of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, when he delivered a pro-reform speech to the national congress in 1969 and was thrown out. A year later he was also expelled from the Communist Party and then added to the Communist Party Central Committee's long list of enemies of the socialist regime. He put himself through the Faculty of Law of the Comenius University while working in a glass factory.
In late 1989, during the fast-paced 1989 anti-Communist Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
, he entered the new political party, Public Against Violence
Public Against Violence
The Public Against Violence was a political movement that was established in Bratislava, Slovakia on 20 November 1989. It was the Slovak counterpart of the Czech Civic Forum ....
(Verejnosť proti násiliu, VPN), which was the Slovak counterpart to the better-known Czech Civic Forum
Civic Forum
The Civic Forum was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989...
. On 11 January 1990, when the VPN was looking for professionals to participate in the government of Slovakia, Mečiar was appointed the new Minister of the Interior and Environment of Slovakia on a recommendation of Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubcek
Alexander Dubček , also known as Dikita, was a Slovak politician and briefly leader of Czechoslovakia , famous for his attempt to reform the communist regime during the Prague Spring...
, who was impressed by Mečiar‘s thorough knowledge in all relevant fields.
After the first democratic elections in Czecho-Slovakia in June 1990, he was named Slovak premier (representing the VPN) of a coalition government of VPN and the Christian Democratic Movement
Christian Democratic Movement
The Christian Democratic Movement is a political party in Slovakia.It is represented in the parliament. It was also member of the government coalition, but it left that coalition on 7 February 2006 due to disputes over an international treaty between Slovakia and the Holy See dealing with the...
. He advocated economic reform and continued federation with the Czechs.
In 1990 the political landscape of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
started to develop and many new political parties were formed, mainly from the Civic Forum and the VPN. By the end of 1990, some of Mečiar‘s partners in the VPN began distancing themselves from him. First, the party split into two fractions in early March 1991: the Mečiar supporters (mostly members of his cabinet) and Mečiar opponents (led by the VPN chairman Fedor Gál). On 23 April 1991, the Presidium of the Slovak parliament (Slovak National Council
Slovak National Council
The Slovak National Council is the name of different types of supreme bodies in the history of Slovakia. They existed within the Kingdom of Hungary, Czechoslovakia or the Slovak Republic or were bodies of Slovak exiles:...
) deposed him as premier of Slovakia and he was replaced by Ján Čarnogurský
Ján Carnogurský
Ján Čarnogurský is a former Slovak politician, a former Prime Minister of Slovakia and the former chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement .He is married and has 4 children.- Before 1989 :...
, the leader of the Christian Democratic Movement. Three days later, the VPN officially split in two: the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the remaining VPN (since October 1991 called ODÚ-VPN, later just ODÚ
Odu
Odu may refer to* Old Dominion University , a university located in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.*Odu , a 1998 album by King Sunny Adé*Nnamdi Oduamadi , Nigerian footballer known by the nickname Odu...
). Mečiar was elected HZDS chairman in June 1991. The official reason given by the ODÚ for this split was that Mečiar had become a "dictator".
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
In 1991 and 1992, there were frequent, but fruitless, negotiations between the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic concerning the future relations between the two constituent republics of Czecho-Slovakia. The winners of the June 1992 elections in Czechoslovakia and new prime ministers were the Civic Democratic Party led by Václav KlausVáclav Klaus
Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
in the Czech Republic and the HZDS led by Vladimír Mečiar in Slovakia. Before and shortly after this election, the HZDS supported the creation of a looser federation—a confederation—between the two republics. However, its Czech counterpart wanted an even more centralised Czechoslovakia than was the case in 1992 or two separate countries. Since these two concepts were irreconcilable, Mečiar and Klaus agreed (after intense negotiations, but without having consulted the population in a referendum) on 23 July in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
to dissolve Czecho-Slovakia and to create two independent states. As a result, Mečiar and Klaus became the premiers of two independent states on 1 January 1993.
Slovakia
After eight members of the parliament left the HZDS in March 1993, Mečiar lost his parliamentary majority. At the same time Mečiar's HZDS also lost the support of the president, Michal Kováč, who was originally nominated by the HZDS. However, it was only in March 1994 that he was unseated as prime minister by the parliament (National Council of the Slovak RepublicNational Council of the Slovak Republic
The National Council of the Slovak Republic , abbreviated to NR SR, is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral, and consists of 150 MPs, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation every four years....
) and the opposition parties created a new government under Jozef Moravčík
Jozef Moravcík
Jozef Moravčík is a Slovak diplomat and political figure. He served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from 16 March 1994 to 13 December 1994, and later as the Mayor of Bratislava.- References :*...
's lead. However, after the elections held at the turn of September and October 1994, in which his HZDS won 35% of the vote, he became prime minister again - in a coalition with the far-right Slovak National Party headed by the controversial Ján Slota
Ján Slota
Ján Slota is the co-founder and President of the Slovak National Party, an extremist nationalist party. Slota as the leader of SNS entered into a coalition with Robert Fico's Smer in 2006...
, and the radical-left Združenie robotníkov Slovenska headed by the colourful Ján Ľupták, a mason (with leaving examination
Matura
Matura or a similar term is the common name for the high-school leaving exam or "maturity exam" in various countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia,...
as he always points out).
During the following period, he was constantly criticized by his opponents and Western countries for an autocratic style of administration, lack of respect for democracy, misuse of state media for propaganda, corruption (which is still prevalent today) and the shady privatisation of national companies that occurred during his rule. Privatisation during the 1990s in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic was harmed by widespread unlawful asset stripping
Asset stripping
Asset stripping involves selling the assets of a business individually at a profit. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered productive to the economy. Asset stripping is considered to be a problem in economies such as Russia or China that are making a...
(also described by the journalistic term of tunnelling).
At the same time Mečiar was at permanent "war" with the then-President of Slovakia, Michal Kováč
Michal Kovác
Michal Kováč was a Slovak politician in the early 1990s and the first President of Slovakia after the creation of that state from 1993 to 1998....
. He was also blamed for having engaged the Slovak secret service
Slovenská informacná služba
Slovenská informačná služba is an intelligence agency of the government of Slovakia.- History :Slovenská informačná služba was established on January 21, 1993 as a descendant of the Federálna bezpečnostná informačná služba FBIS...
(SIS) in the abduction
Crime in Slovakia
Slovakia is a Central European country with a history of relatively low crime. While crime became more widespread after the fall of communism in 1989, it remains low when compared to many other post-communist countries....
of the President’s son Michal Jr. — wanted on a warrant for a financial crime in Germany — to Hainburg Austria in August 1995, but his guilt has not been proven. However, after Kovač's term expired in March 1998 the Slovak parliament was unable to elect a successor, so Mečiar also temporarily assumed the role of acting president. As president, he issued an amnesty for some of those accused of the abduction. As a result, Slovakia under his rule became partially isolated from the West and the pace of EU and NATO accession negotiations was much slower than in the case of neighboring countries, although Mečiar supported both EU and NATO membership for his country and submitted Slovakia's applications to both organisations. In 2000, Mečiar was arrested by Slovakian police on charges of fraud dating from his term in office.
Mečiar and HZDS narrowly won the September 1998 election (the single largest party with 27% of the vote). However, he was unable to create a coalition, and Mikuláš Dzurinda
Mikuláš Dzurinda
Mikuláš Dzurinda is a Slovak politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 30 October 1998 to 4 July 2006. He was a founder and leader of the Slovak Democratic Coalition and the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union...
from the opposition became the new Prime Minister. Afterwards, Mečiar was one of the two leading candidates for the first direct election of the president of Slovakia in 1999, but he was defeated by Rudolf Schuster
Rudolf Schuster
Rudolf Schuster was the second President of Slovakia . He was elected on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated on 15 June. Schuster was defeated in the presidential elections of April 2004, in which he ran as an independent...
. In 2000, Mečiar‘s HZDS was renamed "People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia".
In 2000 Mečiar ostensibly gave up his political ambitions. His HZDS colleague Augustín Marián Húska said: "The NATO-War against Yugoslavia in 1999 was also a signal to us, to not pursue any vision of political independence anymore. We have seen what will happen to forces that want to be independent."
Mečiar was heavily favoured to win the 2002 election, even though it was thought that if he became prime minister again, it would end any chance of Slovakia getting into the EU. The 2002 elections saw the HZDS score the highest percentage (20%) again. However, as in 1998, no other party was willing to serve under him. The result was another term in government for Dzurinda. The lower percentage of Mečiar's HZDS (20%) compared to the 1998 result was due to internal disputes within the organization shortly before the election, which caused many traditional HZDS members to leave the party. Some of them created the HZD (Movement for Democracy
Movement for Democracy (Slovakia)
The Movement for Democracy is a political party in Slovakia split from the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia in 2002. The first leader of the party was Ivan Gašparovič, the current president of Slovakia...
) party led by Ivan Gašparovič
Ivan Gašparovic
Ivan Gašparovič is a Slovak politician and law professor who has been the President of Slovakia since 15 June 2004. He is also the first Slovak president to be re-elected.-Biography:...
. In 2003, further traditional HZDS members left the party and most of them created the People's Union
People's Union (Slovakia)
Liberal Party is a political party in Slovakia founded in 2003 by dissident parliamentarians from the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia.LS was founded under the name People's Union and renamed itself to 'Liberal Party' in March 2007. ĽÚ was first led by Vojtech Tkáč, before Gustáv Krajči was...
(Ľudová únia).
In the 2004 presidential election Mečiar again tried to become Slovak president, but he was defeated in the second round by his former long-standing ally Ivan Gašparovič. In 2006 Parliamentary election
Slovak parliamentary election, 2006
The 2006 parliamentary elections in Slovakia took place on Saturday June 17, 2006. The voters selected 150 representatives for the National Council of the Slovak Republic. The highest number of seats, 50, was won by left-wing party Direction - Social Democracy led by Robert Fico. In total, six...
in Slovakia, HZDS suffered the worst election result in its history (8.79%), leading Mečiar to request an examination of the election results. While HZDS became part of Robert Fico
Robert Fico
Robert Fico served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from July 4, 2006 to July 8, 2010.He is the leader of the left-wing party Direction – Social Democracy . The party won the parliamentary elections in 2006, receiving approximately 30 percent of the cast votes...
's coalition, Mečiar himself was not named to cabinet. He declined to get involved in the 2009 presidential election
Slovak presidential election, 2009
The 2009 Slovak presidential elections were held on 21 March and 4 April. It was third peoples' presidential vote in the era of independent Slovak republic...
but also denied that he was considering political retirement.
In the Slovak parliamentary election, 2010
Slovak parliamentary election, 2010
A parliamentary election took place in Slovakia on 12 June 2010. The elections were contested by eighteen parties, six of which passed the 5% threshold for sitting in parliament...
Mečiar's HZDS did not receive enough votes to reach the parliament
National Council of the Slovak Republic
The National Council of the Slovak Republic , abbreviated to NR SR, is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral, and consists of 150 MPs, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation every four years....
for the first time in its history.
See also
- List of political parties in Slovakia
- List of Presidents of Slovakia
- List of Prime Ministers of Slovakia
- Ivan LexaIvan LexaIvan Lexa, Ing. is the former head of the Slovak Secret Service from 1995 to 1998. One of the closest allies of the former autocratic Prime Minister of Slovakia Vladimír Mečiar, under Lexa the Secret Service committed numerous high-profile politically motivated crimes.In 2000, Ivan Lexa fled...
- Jaroslav SvěchotaJaroslav SvěchotaJaroslav Svěchota, plk., JUDr. was the former Deputy Chief of the Slovak Secret Service and lawyer...
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