Suspect Is Charged in Tried Killing of Slovakia’s Prime Minister

Mr. Fico, who had been a Communist Occasion member whereas it was in energy, based the Smer get together within the late Nineties. He started the primary of his three phrases as prime minister in 2006, serving for 4 years earlier than going into opposition after his coalition misplaced an election. Mr. Fico returned to energy in 2012 however resigned as prime minister in July 2018 following mass demonstrations over the homicide of a journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, who had been uncovering authorities corruption. The protests, which rocked the nation, had been the biggest seen for the reason that Velvet Revolution; demonstrators demanded the resignation of the federal government and new elections.

Slovakia ranks excessive in unbiased assessments of press freedom, however the protesters had additionally sought deeper adjustments within the nation Mr. Fico had overseen.

The Smer get together began out on the political left however has more and more embraced right-wing views on immigration and cultural points. A lot of the worldwide dialogue of Mr. Fico’s management lately has centered on his ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, Slovakia’s southern neighbor. Like Mr. Orban, Mr. Fico has been a staunch critic of the European Union.

After a parliamentary election final fall, Mr. Fico started his third time period as prime minister, then had coronary heart surgical procedure the subsequent month. He emerged to type a coalition authorities after securing round 23 p.c of the vote, having campaigned towards sanctions that had been imposed on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022. Not one spherical of the nation’s ammunition must be despatched to Ukraine, he had informed voters.

That stance, in a rustic the place pro-Russian sentiment had traditionally been vital, anxious E.U. leaders in Brussels, who stated they feared that Slovakia may type a pro-Russian alliance with Mr. Orban and, probably, Italy’s chief, Giorgia Meloni, that may impede help for Ukraine within the European Union. On the time, it was additionally seen as an indication of the obvious erosion of the pro-Ukrainian bloc that Europe had shaped after the invasion.

Slovakia’s army contributions to Ukraine had been negligible in contrast with nations akin to america and Britain. However final 12 months it grew to become considered one of a number of European Union nations on Ukraine’s borders to block imports of its grain, fearing that it may undermine Slovakia’s farmers.

In April, an ally of Mr. Fico, Peter Pellegrini, received a vote to develop into Slovakia’s president. The place is essentially ceremonial, however analysts stated the victory strengthened the grip of political forces pleasant to Russia in Central Europe, on condition that Mr. Pellegrini opposed offering army and monetary support to Ukraine.

Mr. Fico was born on Sept. 15, 1964, right into a working-class household within the metropolis of Topolcany within the Nitra Area of what’s now Slovakia. He graduated in 1986 from Comenius College Bratislava, the place he obtained a regulation diploma, in accordance with the Slovak authorities’s web site. He earned a doctorate on the Institute of State and Legislation on the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and served within the army from 1986 to 1987.

Mr. Fico studied in america, Britain, Finland, Belgium and France, specializing in human rights and felony regulation, in accordance with the federal government web site. He married Svetlana Ficova, a lawyer and professor, and so they have a son. Information reviews in Slovakia say the couple is separated.