Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, was hospitalized after being shot multiple times, Slovakian media reported.
According to media reports, the Prime Minister suffered life-threatening injuries in what officials are calling an assassination attempt. He was rushed to the hospital following the incident and transported by helicopter to the city of Banska Bystrica for urgent treatment, a government official said to the media.
The incident was captured live, and the suspected gunman was apprehended by the police at the scene. Slovakian media reported the suspect was taken for further questioning. Officials told the media that the Prime Minister is in critical condition and receiving treatment.
Robert Fico, the leader of the left-wing Smer (Direction) party, won Slovakia’s parliamentary elections on September 30, marking his return to power for the third time. Fico’s campaign was based on a pro-Russian and anti-American platform.
Throughout his political career, Fico has navigated between supporting pro-European policies and adopting nationalistic stances against Brussels and the United States. He has shown a readiness to shift his positions based on public opinion and changing political situations.
In the past four years, Fico has taken more extreme positions. He has strongly criticized Western allies, promised to stop military aid to Ukraine, opposed sanctions on Russia, and threatened to block any future NATO membership for Ukraine.
Robert Fico is a Slovak politician born on September 15, 1964. He has been the Prime Minister of Slovakia since 2023 and previously held the position from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. He founded the Smer (Direction – Social Democracy) party in 1999 and has led it since then. Fico is the longest-serving prime minister in Slovakia’s history, with over 10 years in office. He was first elected to Parliament in 1992, back when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia, and later joined the Council of Europe.
After winning the 2006 parliamentary election, Fico formed his first government. Described as a populist, he became the leader of the opposition after losing the 2010 election. In 2012, he returned as prime minister after Smer won a significant victory, securing 83 seats and an absolute majority, the first since 1989. In 2013, he announced his candidacy for the 2014 presidential election but lost to Andrej Kiska in the second round on March 29, 2014.
Fico resigned as prime minister on March 15, 2018, following a political crisis triggered by the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak. President Andrej Kiska then appointed Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini to form a new government.
In the 2023 parliamentary election, Fico campaigned to stop military support for Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia. Smer won the most votes, 22.95%, securing 42 seats. Fico formed a coalition with the Voice – Social Democracy (Hlas) and the Slovak National Party, starting his fourth term as prime minister on October 25, 2023. His government refused to join a coalition led by the Czech Republic to provide military aid to Ukraine.
Fico is married to Svetlana Ficová (née Svobodová), a lawyer and associate professor from Žilina. They met while studying law at Comenius University in Bratislava and married in 1988. They have one son, Michal, who studied at the University of Economics in Bratislava. Besides Slovak, Fico speaks English and Russian fluently.
