Jaroslav Naď

Jaroslav Naď (born 21 March 1981) is a Slovak politician who served as Minister of Defence between March 2020 and May 2023, as a nominee of OĽaNO. He specialises in national security issues and previously worked with Globsec. Naď currently serves as a deputy chairman of the Democrats.

Early life and education

Naď grew up in Banská Štiavnica and settled in a village near Senec, Hrubá Borša. He has a brother named René and is the brother-in-law of Anton Tretinár.

Naď majored in Political Science at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica in 2007 and received further training at the European Security and Defence College in Brussels. In 2018, he obtained his PhD from the Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik.

Political career

Naď joined Direction – Social Democracy in 2000, but was expelled from the party after paying membership fees.

Between 2012 and 2013, Naď worked as a diplomat, head of the defense section at the Permanent Delegation of Slovakia to NATO as well as Permanent Representation of Slovakia to the European Union. From 2014 until 2018, he worked as a manager of the company Cypher.

Minister of Defence (2020-2023)

After the electoral victory of OĽANO, Naď became the Minister of Defence. Beginning with March 2023, he serves as a deputy chairman of the Democrats party.

During the parliamentary elections in February 2020, in which Naď ran for the OĽANO movement, he won 101,819 preferential votes and became a member of the People's Party Our Slovakia. In April 2020, Naď announced the cancellation of the ongoing tender for the purchase of 4x4 armored vehicles for the Slovak Armed Forces and would suspend the same tender for 8x8 vehicles.

In 2023, Robert Fico had claimed that Naď had requested a regional political position from Fico and partisan leadership. Following the denial, Fico alleged that Naď had left the party.

Post-Minister of Defence

Beginning with 1 November 2023, Naď works as an advisor to the Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic, Jana Černochová.

Personal life

Naď is trilingual, able to speak English and German apart from his native Slovak. He plays football in his spare time.

Naď is divorced with three children: two from his previous marriage with Katarína Baláková, and one from his partner, journalist Barbara Túrosová. He also owns a luxury apartment in Banská Štiavnica.

Controversy

Naď was linked with accusations of nepotism when his former partner Barbara Túrosová was assigned spokeswoman of the Ministry of Interior. She denied the allegations, referring to her long-term journalism career in TA3. Naď was previously linked with nepotism back in 2014, when his brother René was appointed as the Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to NATO in Brussels, while Naď was one of the officers at the Ministry of Defence. No verdicts were declared in either of the cases.

References

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