Olga Keltošová (née Suchalová; 27 February 1943 in

Pezinok Pezinok (; in the local dialect ''Pezinek''; ; ; ) is a town in southwestern Slovakia. It is roughly northeast of Bratislava and, as of December 2023, had a population of 24,443. Pezinok lies near the Little Carpathians and thrives mainly on vi ...

) is a former Slovak politician. Before the break-up of Czechoslovakia, she served as Vice President of the

Slovak National Council The Slovak National Council (, SNR) was an organisation that was formed at various times in the 19th and 20th centuries to act as the highest representative of the Slovak nation. It originated in the mid-19th century as a focus for Slovak nationali ...

. She was a parliamentary deputy and one of the chief spokespersons for HZDS. From 1992 to 1997, Keltošová was the country's Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. In 1998, she served briefly as Slovakia's ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Subsequently, she became mayor of the borough of

Lamač Lamač (German language, German: ''Blumenau; Hungarian language, Hungarian: Lamacs'') is the smallest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, lying in the northern part of the city. Part of the Bratislava IV district, Lamač is home to app ...

Biography

Oľga Suchalová was born on 27 February 1943 in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Her family moved to

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

when she was five and she undertook her preliminary education there. In 1966, she completed her journalism studies at

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 ...

and she married briefly, but her husband chose to remain in the UK to study and they were divorced within a year. Until it was banned in 1968, she wrote for the student magazine, ''Echo Bratislava Vysokoškolákov''. When the government crackdown on journalists started, she was limited to working on the children's section of such magazines as ''Včielku'' and ''Zorničku a Ohník'' or doing interpretation translation work. She married a freelance writer, Vlado Bednár, with whom she had two children, but they divorced in 1982. She married her third husband Peter Keltoš in 1999. 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 ...

in 1989, she became the spokesperson of the Slovak Democratic Party () (DS), was elected as a member of parliament, and became Vice-President of the

. In 1992, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Keltošová joined the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia () (HZDS) and served as the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. In 1994 she was returned to parliament and served again as Minister of Labour, until 1998, when she was appointed as ambassador of Slovakia to the United Nations. After serving only seven months, she was recalled from the post when her party lost the national elections. Beginning in 2001, she lectured in political science at several universities and served on the city council of the Bratislavan borough of Lamač until 2006. In 2007, she was elected as mayor of

serving until 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keltosova, Olga Living people 1943 births People from Pezinok People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia politicians Women government ministers of Slovakia Permanent representatives of Slovakia to the United Nations Slovak journalists Slovak women journalists Mayors of Bratislava Comenius University alumni Slovak women diplomats Slovak women ambassadors Labour ministers of Slovakia Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 1992–1994 Women members of the National Council (Slovakia)

Biography

See also

References