Andrej Kiska is the incumbent President of Slovak Republic, a NATO member country. He has been in the office since 15 June 2014, having succeeded Ivan Gasparovic. Kiska is also an entrepreneur and a philanthropist.
Early Life and Education
Andrej Kiska was born on 2 February 1963 in Poprad, Czechoslovakia to teacher parents. After completing high school from a local school in Poprad, Kiska joined the Slovak Technical University in engineering field. He graduated in 1986.
Personal Life
Andrej Kiska is married to Martina Kiskova and the couple has four children: Natalia, Andrej, Viktor and Veronika. The family currently resides in Grassalkovich palace.
Career
Graduating as an engineer from the Slovak Technical University, Kiska joined Naftoprojekt as a designer. Frustrated with low opportunities, he went to the United States. However, the American dream didn’t provide him anything: despite having an engineering degree, Kiska had to work at a petrol station and a construction. Hence, returning to Slovakia seemed to be a better option for him.
Returning to the Slovak Republic, in pursuit of building a business, Kiska acquired a company which soon went bankrupt. However, this was just a speed bumper for Kiska’s desire to progress in business. He moved on from numerous positions to positions and founded various companies, many of which became largely successful. His financial institutions, Triangle and Quatro, served 1 million plus people and acquired huge market value. Kiska sold his company shares in 2005 and turned towards philanthropism.
In collaboration with a friend, Kiska built up a non-profit organization and named it Good Angel. As a starter fund, Kiska donated personal €1 million to Good Angel. Now, the organization is aimed at helping financially crashed families and is often deemed as the most successful charity in Slovakia. In 2014, Kiska extended Good Angel’s services to Czech Republican people as well. As of today, almost 200,000 people financially support the charity.
Having acquired enough fame because of philanthropism, Kiska announced his bid for 2014 presidential election. In the runoff election on 29 March 2014, he won the opposition with 60% votes in favor. Following the win, Kiska vowed to donate his presidential salary to Good Angel. Assuming the office on 15 June 2014, Kiska has been largely focused on foreign policies. He wants the Slovakian government to recognize Kosovo as an independent state and condemn Russian-induced conflict in Ukraine.
Awards
- Manager of the Year 2006, Trend Magazine
- Crystal Wing, 2011
- Commemorative Medal, Comenius University in Bratislava
- 1st class Andrej Hlinka Order
- 1st class Ľudovít Štúr Order
- 1st class Milan Rastislav Štefánik Cross
- 1st Class Pribina Cross
Trump and Kiska
Romanian President Andrej Kiska and US President Donald Trump seem to have similar backgrounds. Both are businessmen who have been renowned because of numerous feats in their own fields. Apparently, both decided to run for president after being fed up with the tendency of politicians to forget about the voters.
Although President Trump and Kiska represent the same kind of background, they stand for different agendas. For instance, while Trump supports Russia, Kiska is not so considerate about it yet. According to the official Slovak Presidential website, Kiska sent a congratulatory telegram to Donald Trump after his win on November 8. The telegram extracted from the website:
“Dear Mr. President-elect. On behalf of the citizens of the Slovak Republic and on my behalf, let me congratulate you on your election as the 45th President of the United States of America.
The United States of America is a strategic ally and friend of both the Slovak Republic and the European Union. Sharing of common values of freedom and democracy is a solid basis of our mutual relations.
Slovakia considers preservation of the strong transatlantic bonds to be one of the most important pillars of its security and prosperity. It is highly important for solving challenges both in Europe and the world. Mutual trust and allied unity are the best answer for finding solutions. And in particular, I mean the security in the Euro-Atlantic area and stability beyond its borders. The Slovak Republic is aware of its commitments and will continue to fulfill them.
I am delighted to note that mutual relations between Slovakia and the United States of America are equally excellent in a practical way. I especially appreciate intensive development of the defense and economic cooperation. The Unites States of America serves as an inspiration and a good example in many areas – from support of enterpreneurship to the development of science, research, new technologies and innovations. Strong people-to-people contacts that we have managed to build are the cornerstone of the understanding between our countries and citizens.
Dear Mr. President-elect, I wish you good health and success in the office of the President of the United States of America.”
