Robert Kaliňák
Slovak politician
title: "Robert Kaliňák" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1971-births", "living-people", "politicians-from-bratislava", "businesspeople-from-bratislava", "slovak-people-of-bulgarian-descent", "direction-–-social-democracy-politicians", "deputy-prime-ministers-of-slovakia", "interior-ministers-of-slovakia", "members-of-the-national-council-(slovakia)-2002-2006", "members-of-the-national-council-(slovakia)-2010-2012"] description: "Slovak politician" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kaliňák" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Slovak politician ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Robert Kaliňák |
| image | Robert Kalinak, 2023 (cropped).jpg |
| term_start1 | 25 October 2023 |
| term_start2 | 4 April 2012 |
| term_end2 | 22 March 2018 |
| term_start3 | 4 July 2006 |
| term_end3 | 8 July 2010 |
| term_start4 | 25 October 2023 |
| predecessor4 | Martin Sklenár |
| term_start5 | 4 April 2012 |
| term_end5 | 22 March 2018 |
| predecessor5 | Daniel Lipšic |
| successor5 | Tomáš Drucker |
| term_start6 | 4 July 2006 |
| term_end6 | 8 July 2010 |
| term_start7 | 22 March 2018 |
| term_end7 | 31 December 2018 |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Bratislava, Czechoslovakia |
| spouse | Zuzana Kaliňáková |
| alma_mater | Comenius University (JUDr.) |
| party | Direction – Social Democracy (1999–present) |
| alongside1 | Peter Kmec, Denisa Saková and Tomáš Taraba |
| primeminister1 | Robert Fico |
| primeminister2 | Robert Fico |
| alongside2 | Peter Kažimír, Miroslav Lajčák, Ľubomír Vážny, Peter Pellegrini, Lucia Žitňanská and Gabriela Matečná |
| office1 | Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia |
| primeminister3 | Robert Fico |
| alongside3 | Dušan Čaplovič, Ján Mikolaj, Štefan Harabin and Viera Petríková |
| office4 | Minister of Defence |
| primeminister4 | Robert Fico |
| office5 | Minister of Interior |
| primeminister5 | Robert Fico |
| primeminister6 | Robert Fico |
| successor6 | Daniel Lipšic |
| predecessor6 | Martin Pado |
| office7 | Member of the National Council |
| term_start8 | 8 July 2010 |
| term_end8 | 4 April 2012 |
| term_start9 | 15 October 2002 |
| term_end9 | 4 July 2006 |
| caption | Kaliňák in 2023 |
| :: |
| name = Robert Kaliňák | image = Robert Kalinak, 2023 (cropped).jpg | imagesize = | order1 = | term_start1 = 25 October 2023 | term_end1 = | deputy1 = | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | term_start2 = 4 April 2012 | term_end2 = 22 March 2018 | deputy2 = | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | order3 = | term_start3 = 4 July 2006 | term_end3 = 8 July 2010 | deputy3 = | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | order4 = | term_start4 = 25 October 2023 | term_end4 = | deputy4 = | predecessor4 = Martin Sklenár | term_start5 = 4 April 2012 | term_end5 = 22 March 2018 | predecessor5 = Daniel Lipšic | successor5 = Tomáš Drucker | order6 = | term_start6 = 4 July 2006 | term_end6 = 8 July 2010 | term_start7 = 22 March 2018 | term_end7 = 31 December 2018 | birth_date = | birth_place = Bratislava, Czechoslovakia | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Zuzana Kaliňáková | alma_mater = Comenius University (JUDr.) | constituency = | party = Direction – Social Democracy (1999–present) | signature = | alongside1 = Peter Kmec, Denisa Saková and Tomáš Taraba | primeminister1 = Robert Fico | primeminister2 = Robert Fico | alongside2 = Peter Kažimír, Miroslav Lajčák, Ľubomír Vážny, Peter Pellegrini, Lucia Žitňanská and Gabriela Matečná | office1 = Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia | prime minister 3 = | primeminister3 = Robert Fico | alongside 3 = | alongside3 = Dušan Čaplovič, Ján Mikolaj, Štefan Harabin and Viera Petríková | office4 = Minister of Defence | prime minister4 = | primeminister4 = Robert Fico | office5 = Minister of Interior | primeminister5 = Robert Fico | primeminister6 = Robert Fico | primeminister7 = | successor6 = Daniel Lipšic | predecessor6 = Martin Pado | office7 = Member of the National Council | term_start8 = 8 July 2010 | term_end8 = 4 April 2012 | term_start9 = 15 October 2002 | term_end9 = 4 July 2006 | caption = Kaliňák in 2023 Robert Kaliňák (born 11 May 1971) is a Slovak politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia and Minister of Defence in the Fourth cabinet of Robert Fico since 25 October 2023. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Robert_Kaliňák_Slovakia_Minister_of_Defence_at_the_Pentagon_on_March_1,2024(cropped).jpg" caption="Robert Kaliňák in 2024"] ::
Kaliňák previously served as Minister of the Interior from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018. He is the longest serving minister in the history of modern Slovakia. He is a member of the Direction – Social Democracy party. On 31 December 2018, Kaliňák resigned his seat in the National Council, effectively retiring from politics until the 2023 parliamentary election.
Early life and education
Kaliňák was born on 11 May 1971 in Bratislava. His father was a sailor and his mother, who originated from the Bulgarian minority in Odesa, worked as a teacher. Kaliňák's brother Milan is a member of the Taktici rock band, with whom Robert also played occasionally in the past.
Whilst studying, Kaliňák successfully entered the world of entrepreneurship in 1990 by opening a student restaurant, a publishing house and printing office of scholarly literature. During his studies, he also started his career in a law office in 1992. Kaliňák and his partners established a chain of restaurants called Steam & Coffee in 1999, while he engaged also in other lines of business. After entering politics, he retired as an executive from all business activities.
Political career
Whilst Kaliňák was holding the post of Minister of Interior, he faced several criticisms from the side of opposition regarding his purchase of shares from shareholder, who was later investigated for tax fraud. Kaliňák resigned as an interior minister as well as the PM deputy on 22 March 2018 after the murder of an investigative reporter Ján Kuciak.
In September 2025, Kalinak was fined by the parliamentary conflict of interest committee for deliberately omitting his family's vacation villa on the island of Pag in Croatia from his asset disclosure. He was criticized for defending his decision to conceal the property and for the perceived double standard.
References
References
- Baran, Michal. (7 June 2016). "Fico: Hatred is Bad Political Platform, Kalinak Has Our Full Support".
- Murajdová, Alexandra. (25 March 2022). "Z Ukrajiny utiekla aj rodina exministra vnútra Roberta Kaliňáka. Časť tam však ešte zostala".
- (5 December 2007). "Nehanbím sa k nemu priznať". News and Media Holding.
- Šándorová, Eliška. (14 June 2016). "Robert "Feši" Kaliňák: Syn námorníka, ktorý pláva v politických vodách už takmer 20 rokov".
- (12 March 2018). "Slovakian minister resigns after protests at journalist's murder". Guardian News and Media Limited.
- https://slovakmonitor.com/slovak-defence-minister-caught-hiding-croatian-villa-claims-higher-interest-justified-secrecy/
- https://spectator.sme.sk/politics-and-society/c/slovak-defence-minister-fined-over-undeclared-croatian-villa
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::