Daniel Lipšic (born 8 July 1973) is a
Slovak politician and
Jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
. He is a former
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
,
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
and former
Minister of Interior. Until 28 May 2012 he was a member of the
Christian Democratic Movement
The Christian Democratic Movement (, KDH) is a Christian democratic political party in Slovakia that is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and an observer of the Centrist Democrat International
The Centrist Democrat International ...
(KDH), in which he served as vice-president and a
Member of Parliament.
[(22 June 2005)]
Vindication Nears for Reluctant Free-Speech Crusader
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Through his legal and political career, he is noted for his hard-line stance regarding officials from the former
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
Czechoslovak regime, as well as crimes committed during this period. A public
anti-corruption
Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measur ...
activist, he is outspoken against perceived corruption in the political or financial sphere.
In May 2012, in the aftermath of the electoral defeat of the
Radičová cabinet, Lipšic together with
Jana Žitňanská and
Gabor Grendel, left the KDH and formed a new political party called
NOVA
A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
(). He currently serves as its president.
[(6 September 2012)]
NOVA - Slovak word of the week
''The Slovak Spectator'' Daniel Lipšic has consistently been ranked as one of the most trusted politicians in Slovakia.
Early life
Daniel Lipšic was born on 8 July 1973 in Bratislava into a family of physicians and doctors. Both his parents, along with his twin brother Erik and all of his cousins are medical doctors, and Lipšic grew up aspiring to be a doctor, saying:''"I always thought I would be a doctor too, since during communism a career in law was restricted. But after the
Velvet revolution
The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
things changed."''
Education
He attended secondary school () at the Grösslingová 18 Upper Secondary School. He enrolled at the Law Faculty at the
Comenius University in Bratislava in 1991, graduating in 1996.
During his time in University he also spent time at the
University of Minnesota Law School
The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...
in Minneapolis and
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...
in
Washington DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
. In 1998 he attended
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
on a
Fulbright scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
, graduating in 2000 with a
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject.
In many jurisdi ...
or ''LL.M''.
Legal career
During his mandatory military service between 1997 and 1998 he served at the District Military Prosecutor's Office in
Prešov
Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...
. After his military service, he was employed at the Law Firm Valko & Partners, as an expert in bankruptcy law. In 1999, he was appointed as Head of the Legal Office at the Ministry of Justice by then Minister Jan Carnogursky, where he was tasked with documenting and investigating crimes from the former Czechoslovak communist regime, which contained over 70.0000 individual cases. He was an outspoken proponent of the prosecuting the Slovak politicians responsible for the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...
, which he called "the greatest crime in the past 50 years of Slovak history." Specifically he targeted former hardline communist leader
Vasiľ Biľak
RSDr. Vasiľ Biľak (11 August 1917 – 6 February 2014) was a Slovak Communist politician and leader of Rusyns, Rusyn origin.
Vasiľ Biľak was born in Krajná Bystrá (), in the Sáros County of the Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Slovakia) in ...
, who was accused of signing the official document "inviting" soviet forces to invade. Bil'ak, died in 2014 aged 94, his trial stopped due to lack of witnesses.
He was also tasked with authoring laws, enabling the government to effectively combat organized crime, as well as legislation introducing stiffer penalties for violent criminals, including a
Three-strikes law
In the United States, habitual offender laws (commonly referred to as three-strikes laws) have been implemented since at least 1952, and are part of the United States Justice Department's Anti-Violence Strategy. These laws require a person who ...
system which will send people convicted of three violent crimes to jail for life without parole. Commenting on this, Lipsic stated that some developed western countries had given up trying to re-educate violent criminals, and were concentrating instead on ''"protecting society from serious criminals."'' In addition, Lipšic authored anti-corruption legislation which gave tougher penalties on graft and outlawed bribery for the first time in Slovakia.
On 1 April 2002, Daniel Lipšic resigned from his post as the head of the Legal Office at the Justice Ministry. This was due to a revised State Service Law which took effect that day, banning state bureaucrats below the level of deputy minister from being members of political parties. Lipšic, a member of the ruling coalition Christian Democrats (KDH), chose to remain with the party, and resigned.
Political career
While still studying law at the university, he served as the President of the right-wing youth organization Civic Democratic Youth, which was established in 1991. As chairman of the CDY, he was also present at the 6th National Congress of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), which took place on 23–24 October 1993 in
Ruzomberok. On 1998, he became a member of the party.
Minister of Justice
In the
2002 Slovak parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Slovakia on 20 and 21 September 2002.Dieter Nohlen, Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1747 The People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, Movement for a Democ ...
he was placed 6th on the party list and received 42,727 preferential votes (18.01% share ), that placed fourth behind
Pavol Hrusovsky, Ján Figel 'and
Vladimír Palko. His mandate did not apply because he became a member of the Government as a cabinet minister following the election. From 15 October 2002 he held the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice.
During his reign, the District Court of Bratislava 1 issued a preliminary measure declaring that the railway strike in February 2003 was illegal and needed to be ended immediately. However, the Constitutional Court later affirmed the right of railway workers to strike. Article 37 of the Slovak Republic's Constitution, within the section on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, guarantees citizens the right to freedom of association for their economic and social interests and ensures the right to strike.
Continuing anti-communist policies of his predecessor, Lipsic unsuccessfully attempted to introduce a law, banning Judges who had worked under the former communist regime from the judiciary. He also attempted to prosecute members of the judiciary who had ruled in political trials under the communist regime. The plan was unequivocally rejected by Slovakia's top judicial authorities, who argued that the law, if passed, would come much too late.
In connection with the withdrawal of KDH from the ruling coalition on 7 February 2006, all KDH cabinet ministers resigned. Subsequently, on 8 February he was replaced as of Minister of Justice by Lucia Zitnanska from the SDKU. This political move KDH was associated with disapproval of the draft contract between the Slovak Republic and the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
regarding the right to objection of conscience, which concerns the armed forces, health, education and training, legal services and labor relations. In early parliamentary elections, held on 17 June 2006, the KDH became part of the opposition. Lipšic in these elections received the second highest number of preferential votes - 86,536 (45.20%).
Minister of the Interior
After the parliamentary elections in 2010, and the resignation of the
Fico Cabinet on 9 July. Lipšic became a member of the cabinet of
Iveta Radičová
Iveta Radičová (; ; born 7 December 1956) is a Slovak sociologist and former politician who served as prime minister of Slovakia from 2010 to 2012. The first woman to hold the position, Radičová led a Radičová's Cabinet, coalition governme ...
as Minister of the Interior. After the
2012 Slovak parliamentary election which saw the governing coalition fell, Lipšic resigned.
While at the Ministry of the Interior, an anonymous source alleged that Lipšic had connections with an Israeli secret agent. This led to "an outburst of antisemitic and anti-Israeli comments in the media". It has been considered the first antisemitic attack on an influential politician in the history of the Slovak Republic.
Personal life
He currently resides in Bratislava with his family.
[(14 July 2010)]
Daniel Lipšic - Minister of Interior
''The Slovak Spectator'' Along with his native Slovak, Lipšic speaks English, German and Russian.
Family
He is married to television presenter Beata Lipšicová (née Oravcová). Together they have sons Alexander, and Peter. He has a twin brother named Erik, who is a specialist in
internal medicine
Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...
and is currently working as a
cardiologist
Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
in
Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
in the Netherlands.
Involvement in fatal car accident
On 19 September 2016, while driving home from work through the
Bratislava III
Bratislava III (; ) is an okres (district) of Bratislava in the Bratislava Region of Slovakia. The district includes the boroughs of Nové Mesto, Bratislava, Nové Mesto, Rača (Bratislava), Rača and Vajnory. It has an area of 75 km² and 7 ...
neighborhood, his
Skoda Superb struck a 72- year old pedestrian crossing the street. The man was transported to the hospital, but he later succumbed to his injuries at University Hospital Bratislava. A test carried out at the place of the accident proved Lipšic was not under the influence of alcohol when driving. Lipšic expressed his regret and offered help to the man's family. He confirmed that he was driving the car, saying he was not driving fast. He noticed the man shortly before the incident. Days later Lipsic announced that he would resign his parliamentary seat due to the case being under police investigation, saying "''"I would not be able to do my job fully anymore",'' On 23 January 2017, the Bratislava Police confirmed that Lipsic would be charged with unlawful killing following the accident.
Bibliography
* Lipšic, Daniel. Bicameral parliamentary system (). Bratislava : Inštitút pre verejné otázky, 2000. 43 s. .
* Lipšic, Daniel. Slovakia needs a decent leadership (). Bratislava : NOVA, 2013. 174 s. .
References
External links
The Slovak Republic Government Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipsic, Daniel
1973 births
Living people
Politicians from Bratislava
Harvard Law School alumni
Christian Democratic Movement politicians
Deputy prime ministers of Slovakia
Justice ministers of Slovakia
Interior ministers of Slovakia
Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2016–2020
New Majority (Slovakia) politicians