Tomáš Valášek (born 21 June 1972) is a Slovak diplomat and politician. From 2013 to 2017 he served as the ambassador of Slovakia to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. From 2020 he is a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the National Council. Tomáš Valášek studied journalism at the

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

but did not finish. Following a semester abroad in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, he moved to the US to study at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Following his graduation in Journalism at the University of Georgia, Valášek went on to study International Affairs at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. Following his studies, Valášek worked at the think tanks World Security Institute, Centre for European Reform and

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...

. In 2013 he Valášek became the Slovak ambassador to NATO, a post he held until 2017. In the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election Valášek was elected to the National Council on the list of the For the People party. In March 2021, he quit the party due to his disagreement with the failure of For the People to leave the government in response to the purchase of the Russian-made

Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V (, the brand name from the Russian Direct Investment Fund or RDIF) or Gam-COVID-Vac (, the name under which it is legally registered and produced) is an Adenoviridae, adenovirus viral vector vaccine COVID-19 vaccine, for COVID-19 de ...

. In April 2021, he joined the

Progressive Slovakia Progressive Slovakia (, PS) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Slovakia established in 2017. The party is led by Michal Šimečka, a former Vice President of the European Parliament. It is a member of the Renew Europe group and ...

party, becoming the party's sole MP. As the Progressive Slovakia MP, Valášek tabled legislation legalizing

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

s for same-sex couples, decriminalizing marijuana use, pension reform and the update of the legal definition of rape based on lack of consent, removing the requirement of the presence or threat of physical violence. His proposals failed to win a majority in the National Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valasek, Tomas 1972 births Living people Politicians from Trnava George Washington University alumni University of Georgia alumni Slovak expatriates in the United States Permanent representatives of Slovakia to NATO Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2020–2023 Progressive Slovakia politicians For the People (Slovakia) politicians Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2023–2027