Branislav Škripek (born 30 August 1970) is a Slovak politician. He served as 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 (2012–2014) and the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...

(2014–2019).

Early life

Škripek was born in

Piešťany Piešťany (; german: Pistyan, hu, Pöstyén, pl, Pieszczany , cs, Píšťany ) is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its own district. It is the biggest and best kno ...

. He studied

Catholic Theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic ...

at the

Comenius University Comenius University in Bratislava ( sk, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) 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 name ...

. Following his graduation, he started a

Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

community in Bratislava, which has included the prime minister

Eduard Heger Eduard Heger (; born 3 May 1976) is a Slovak politician, serving as Prime Minister of Slovakia since 1 April 2021. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Igor Matovič. Heger is a member of t ...

. In addition, Škripek translated Christian literature and edited a Christian magazine.

Politics

In the 2012 Slovak parliamentary election Škripek became an MP for the populist movement

Ordinary People and Independent Personalities Ordinary People and Independent Personalities) ( sk, Obyčajní ľudia a nezávislé osobnosti) is a conservative political party in Slovakia. The anti-establishment party founded in 2011 won the 2020 parliamentary election on an anti-corru ...

(OĽaNO). He gained media notoriety for scolding fellow MPs for being rude to each other and attempting to ban depictions of nudity in the media. In

2014 European Parliament election in Slovakia Elections to the European Parliament took place in Slovakia on 24 May 2014. It was the third European election which took place in Slovakia. Thirteen MEPs were elected from Slovakia using a proportional list system joining the other candidates e ...

, Škripek gained the sole OĽaNO mandate by preferential votes. In the EP, he was a member of the European Christian Political Movement and a part of the

European Conservatives and Reformists The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti-federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European p ...

group. In the

2019 European Parliament election in Slovakia Elections in Slovakia for the 2019 European Parliament election took place on 25 May 2019. Thirty-one parties featured on the electoral list. The election was won by alliance of Progressive Slovakia and TOGETHER - Civic Democracy. It was the fir ...

, Škripek was not included on the OĽaNO list due to his conflict with the party leader

Igor Matovič Igor Matovič (born May 11, 1973) is a Slovak politician and former businessman. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia and Minister of Finance from April 2021 to December 2022 and Prime Minister from March 2020 to March 2021. ...

. Subsequently he joined another snubbed former MEP, Anna Záborská and co-founded a new party called

Christian Union Christian Union may refer to: * Christian Union (Lithuania), a Lithuanian Christian democratic political party (''Krikščionių sąjunga'' in Lithuanian) * Christian Union (Netherlands), a Dutch Christian democratic political party (''ChristenUn ...

. Although the Christian Union failed to pass the representation threshold in the European Elections, it beat expectations by receiving over 3% of the vote as a new party with limited notability and resources. In spite of Škripek's opposition, Christian Union leaders other than himself ran in the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election on the OĽaNO list.

Personal life

Škripek is married to a fellow Charismatic Christian Andrea. They have two sons together. In addition, before his marriage Škripek adopted a disabled five year old orphan Marcel. Marcel died at the age of twenty two.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skripek, Branislav 1970 births Living people People from Piešťany Anti-abortion activists MEPs for Slovakia 2014–2019 OĽaNO politicians Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2012-2016 Comenius University alumni Slovak Roman Catholics Converts to Christianity from atheism or agnosticism