Miroslav Lajčák

Miroslav Lajčák has dedicated his professional life to diplomacy, representing both the Slovak Republic and the international community. He joined the Foreign Service in 1988 and since then has held various positions, including as Slovak Ambassador to Japan, Executive Assistant to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Balkans and Slovak Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and to Albania. Most recently, Mr. Lajčák served as President of the 72^nd Session of the UN General Assembly, where he advocated for dialogue, strengthening multilateralism and serving the needs of all people.

Mr. Lajčák is currently in his fourth mandate as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, a position he first held from 2009 to 2010. From 2012 to 2016, he served as Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia. He was reappointed as Foreign Minister in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

A key figure in the mediation of the post-conflict crises in the Western Balkans, Mr. Lajčák negotiated, organized and supervised the referendum on the independence of Montenegro in 2006 on behalf of the European Union.

From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Lajčák served as High Representative of the International Community and Special Representative of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Lajčák helped shape the newly formed diplomatic service of the European Union, the European External Action Service, as its Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Mr. Lajčák is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute for International Relations and has a law degree from the Comenius University in Bratislava.

He has received several state honors, including the Order of the Yugoslav Star, 1st Class, in 2005; the Order of Honor of the Republic of Moldova in 2014; and the Order of the Montenegrin Great Star in 2016.