Zuzana Caputova is the first women president of European country Slovakia. With 58% of the vote, Caputova edged out European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, a diplomat backed by the county’s governing Smer-Social Democracy party. Caputova, a 45-year-old lawyer and anti-corruption activist has only limited political experience.
Caputova’s greatest triumph as a lawyer—and her ticket to the national political stage—was a victory against an illegal dumpsite in her hometown of Pezinok in western Slovakia. The 14-year battle against won her the 2016 Goldman Prize, a leading award honouring environmental activists often called the Green Nobel.
The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year. Jan Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot at home alongside his fiancée in February 2018.
She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil. She cited Kuciak’s murder as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role.
Aged 45, a divorcee and mother of two, she is a member of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party, which has no seats in parliament.
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