Tomáš Hellebrandt (born 7 April 1982) is a Slovak economist and politician. From 2023 to 2024, 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.

Biography

Early life and education

Tomáš Hellebrandt was born on 7 April 1982 in

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

. At the age of ten he moved with his parents to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, where he grew up. Hellebrandt studied economics at

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Following graduation, he worked as an economist at the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

and later at the

Peterson Institute for International Economics The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), known until 2006 as the Institute for International Economics (IIE), is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by C. Fred Bergsten in 1981 and has been led by ...

. Between 2017 and 2022, Hellebrandt worked as an analyst at the Ministry of Finance in Slovakia. He left the ministry after criticizing the minister

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

for ignoring the evidence presented by the staff of the ministry and cooperating with extreme right politicians to push his agenda through the parliament. The president

Zuzana Čaputová Zuzana Čaputová (; Strapáková; born 21 June 1973) is a Slovak politician, lawyer and environmental activist who served as the fifth president of Slovakia from 2019 to 2024. Čaputová is the first woman to hold the presidency, as well as the ...

subsequently criticized the government for creating a hostile environment for senior civil servants.

Political career

Following his departure from the ministry, Hellebrandt 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 and became its economic expert. In the election campaign leading up to the

2023 Slovak parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in the Slovakia, Slovak Republic on 30 September 2023 to elect members of the National Council (Slovakia), National Council. Regular elections were scheduled to be held in 2024. However, on 15 December 202 ...

, Hellebrandt became a target of fake news. The far right online influencer Daniel Bombic claimed Hellebrandt either died or was close to death after receiving the fourth dose of vaccine against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Hellebrandt and his political party responded to the rumor by confirming Hellebrandt was in perfect health and criticizing those spreading the rumor for causing needless stress to Hellebrandt's family. After winning a mandate in the election, Hellebrandt wore a rainbow ribbon on his jacket during the swear in ceremony. On 6 February 2024, Hellebrandt resigned his MP seat after failing to disclose an infectious illness while being treated at a hospital in Žilina.

Private life

Hellebrandt considers himself "a proud member of the rainbow community". Together with his fellow Progressive Slovakia MP Lucia Plaváková , he is the third openly gay member of the Slovak parliament, after Edita Angyalová and Stanislav Fořt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellebrandt, Tomas 1982 births Living people Progressive Slovakia politicians Slovak LGBTQ politicians Gay politicians Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2023–2027 People from Žilina Slovak gay men 21st-century Slovak LGBTQ people Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the London School of Economics LGBTQ legislators