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Juraj Šeliga

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Juraj Šeliga
Member of the Slovak National Council
In office
20 March 2020 – 25 October 2023
Deputy Speaker of the Slovak National Council
In office
20 March 2020 – 5 May 2021
SpeakerBoris Kollár
Personal details
Born (1990-08-16) 16 August 1990 (age 34)
Dolný Kubín, Czechoslovakia
Political partyFor the People (2019–2023)
Democrats (2023–)
EducationUniversity of Trnava

Juraj Šeliga (born 16 August 1990)[1] is a Slovak politician, activist and lawyer. He served as a Member of the National Council from 2020 until 2023, as well as Deputy Speaker of the council between 2020 and 2021.

Early life

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Born 16 August 1990 Dolný Kubín, Šeliga studied law at the University of Trnava, where he obtained a PhD degree.[2] As a student, Šeliga worked as an aide to the MP Pavel Abrhan.[3]

Activism

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Šeliga worked with the NGO Via Juris to improve the functioning of judiciary in Slovakia.[4] In 2017, he founded the civic initiative Remember (Slovak: Pamätaj) to oppose the weakening of the National Memory Institute and promote the study of crimes of totalitarian regime.[3][5] Following the murder of Ján Kuciak, Šeliga was one of the main organizers of massive anti-government protests where he refused any political ambitions in the future.[6][7]

Political career

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In June 2019, Šeliga was one of the co-founders of For the People led by the president Andrej Kiska,[8] serving as deputy chairman until March 2023.[9] He became deputy speaker in the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election.[10]

In May 2021, Šeliga resigned as Deputy Speakership after pictures of him, his fellow MP Jana Žitňanská, and the governor of the Bratislava region Juraj Droba spending time together in a restaurant that should have been deleted due to the COVID-19 pandemic were published by the tabloid press.[11]

Šeliga faced particular criticism of his conduct because he had been a staunch defender of the anti-pandemic policies of the government.[12]

In March 2023, Šeliga and Žitňanská left the For the People,[13] later joining Democrats party by Eduard Heger.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Juraj Šeliga, PhD". National Council (in Slovak). Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ^ Akácsová, Elena (30 July 2018). "Juraj Šeliga: Hľadám ženu, čo vie hrať šach". Týždeň (in Slovak). W Press. (registration required)
  3. ^ a b Mikušovič, Dušan (6 June 2019). "Šeliga vstupuje do Kiskovej strany: Oboch nás beriem ako umiernených konzervatívcov". Denník N (in Slovak). Bratislava: N Press.
  4. ^ Hanák, Peter (23 February 2019). "Šeliga: Ako to bolo so Sorosom a protestami, raz a navždy (rozhovor)". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak).
  5. ^ Prušová, Veronika (10 September 2017). "Zahalili oči sochám a bojujú za ÚPN: Stále nám pripomínajú, že my sme za socializmu nežili". Denník N (in Slovak). Bratislava: N Press.
  6. ^ "Šeliga vysvetlil, prečo opustil iniciatívu Za slušné Slovensko". Hospodárske noviny (in Slovak). Mafra Slovakia. 3 June 2019.
  7. ^ Vojtaššáková, Lýdia (22 June 2018). "Juraj Šeliga: Námestia nie sú čarovný prútik, ktorý zmení krajinu". Sme (in Slovak). Orava: Petit Press.
  8. ^ "Šeliga ide ku Kiskovi: Nechcem byť marketingový ťah". Týždeň (in Slovak). W Press. 8 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Ochotní a schopní" (in Slovak). For the People.
  10. ^ "Podpredsedovia: Mgr. Juraj Šeliga, podpredseda NRSR" (in Slovak). National Council of Slovakia. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  11. ^ Kern, Miro (5 May 2021). "Šeliga pre porušenie zákazu vychádzania končí ako podpredseda parlamentu". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Kotleba si odmietol dať v televízii rúško, Šeliga podáva podnet". TA3 (in Slovak). 27 September 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Juraj Šeliga a Jana Žitňanská odchádzajú zo". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 3 April 2023.
  14. ^ Mikušovič, Dušan (21 April 2023). "K Demokratom sa pridávajú Šeliga a Žitňanská. Keby sa všetci dobrí stiahli, zostali by len zlí, vysvetlil Šeliga". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press.