Peter Pellegrini
Pellegrini in 2024
Prime Minister of Slovakia
In office 22 March 2018 – 21 March 2020
President	Andrej Kiska Zuzana Čaputová
Deputy	See list Gabriela Matečná Richard Raši László Sólymos Peter Kažimír
Preceded by	Robert Fico
Succeeded by	Igor Matovič
Other positions in the executive Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia for Investment and Informatization In office 23 March 2016 – 22 March 2018 Prime Minister Robert Fico Preceded by Ľubomír Vážny Succeeded by Richard Raši Minister of Health Acting 17 December 2019 – 21 March 2020 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Andrea Kalavská Succeeded by Marek Krajčí Minister of Finance Acting 11 April 2019 – 7 May 2019 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Peter Kažimír Succeeded by Ladislav Kamenický Minister of Interior Acting 17 April 2018 – 26 April 2018 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Tomáš Drucker Succeeded by Denisa Saková Minister of Culture Acting 7 March 2018 – 22 March 2018 Prime Minister Robert Fico Preceded by Marek Maďarič Succeeded by Ľubica Laššáková Minister of Education, Science, Research and Sport In office 3 July 2014 – 25 November 2014 Prime Minister Robert Fico Preceded by Dušan Čaplovič Succeeded by Juraj Draxler Undersecretary of Finance In office 11 April 2012 – 3 July 2014 Minister Peter Kažimír
Speaker of the National Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 October 2023
President	Zuzana Čaputová
Deputy	See list Ľuboš Blaha Andrej Danko Michal Šimečka Peter Žiga
Preceded by	Boris Kollár
In office 25 November 2014 – 23 March 2016
President	Andrej Kiska
Deputy	See list Ján Figeľ Erika Jurinová Jana Laššáková Renáta Zmajkovičová
Preceded by	Pavol Paška
Succeeded by	Andrej Danko
Other positions in the legislature Deputy Speaker of the National Council In office 24 March 2020 – 21 October 2020 Serving with Gábor Grendel, Milan Laurenčík and Juraj Šeliga Speaker Boris Kollár Member of the National Council Incumbent Assumed office 21 March 2020 In office 25 November 2014 – 23 March 2016 In office 4 July 2006 – 11 April 2012
Leader of Voice – Social Democracy
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 November 2020
Preceded by	Office established
Personal details
Born	(1975-10-06) 6 October 1975 (age 48) Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia)
Political party	Voice – Social Democracy (2020–present)
Other political affiliations	Direction – Social Democracy (2000–2020)
Alma mater	Matej Bel University Technical University of Košice (Ing.)

Peter Pellegrini (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈpeter ˈpeleɡriːni]; born 6 October 1975) is a Slovak politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from 2018 to 2020 and Minister of Health from December 2019 to March 2020. He previously served as deputy prime minister (2016–2018) and minister for Education and Science (2014), as well as spending two years as speaker of the National Council (2014–2016). Pellegrini had been a member of Direction – Social Democracy until he left the party and founded Voice – Social Democracy in late June 2020. Currently, after the 2023 election, he serves as the Speaker of the National Council. Pellegrini is a candidate in the 2024 Slovak presidential election.

Education and private career

Pellegrini's studied at the Faculty of Economics of Matej Bel University and the Technical University of Košice, focusing on banking, investment and finance at the latter.^[1] Between 2002 and 2006, he worked as an economist and later as advisor to National Council member for Privatization and Economy Ľubomír Vážny, supported by ĽS-HZDS, SNS and Smer-SD.^[1][2]

Political involvement

Early functions

In the 2006 parliamentary election, he was elected to the National Council for Direction – Social Democracy (Smer-SD). He was reelected in the 2010 and 2012 elections.^[1] Between 2012 and 3 July 2014 he was State Secretary for Finance. He later briefly became Minister for Education and Science.^[2]

First mandate as Speaker of the National Council

On 25 November 2014, he was elected Speaker of the National Council, succeeding Pavol Paška.^[3] In 2015, he was appointed Digital Champion of Slovakia, a European Union appointed position to promote the benefits of an inclusive digital society.^[4]

Prime Minister of Slovakia

Made Deputy Prime Minister for Investments in 2016, under Prime Minister Robert Fico,^[5] Pellegrini was sworn in as head of government after his predecessor resigned on 15 March 2018 in the wake of the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak.^[6] President Andrej Kiska approved of Pellegrini's Cabinet on 21 March 2018;^[7] 81 members of the National Council voted in favour of approving the cabinet the next week.^[8]

After serving as Acting Interior Minister in April 2018, Pellegrini temporarily took on the role of Finance Minister when Peter Kažimír left to become Governor of the National Bank of Slovakia in 2019.^[9]

Later, in December 2019, he assumed the office of Minister of Health after Andrea Kalavská resigned.^[10]

His party lost the 2020 parliamentary election to the populist, anti-corruption party Ordinary People led by Igor Matovič.^{[11][12][13][14]}

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as medical supplies began to dwindle, nations began competing for supplies outside their jurisdictions, either paying companies to reroute or seizing equipment intended for other countries. Pellegrini said he booked two million masks from Ukraine, the requirement was payment in cash. However, a German agent appeared, paid more for the masks, and bought them. Ukraine Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to the situation by saying there was no country in Europe that would not hunt face masks and respirators around the world.^[15]

Second mandate as Speaker of the National Council

On 25 October 2023 he was re-elected Speaker of the National Council with 131 votes.^[16]

Personal life

Pellegrini has Italian ancestors.^[17] His great-grandfather Leopoldo Pellegrini came to Austria-Hungary to participate in the construction of the railway between Levice and Zvolen.^[18] In 2019, he described himself as a non-practicing Roman Catholic.^[19]