Zuzana Čaputová

Former President of Slovakia

Zuzana Čaputová is a Slovak politician, lawyer and environmental activist who served as the fifth president of Slovakia from 2019 to 2024. She is the first woman to have held that position. She first became well known by prevailing in a decade-long struggle against a toxic landfill project in her hometown of Pezinok. For this, she was awarded the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize. She won the 2019 Slovak presidential election with 58% of the vote in the run-off. She had campaigned for social justice and for reform in Slovakia’s police and judicial systems. While in office, she defended LGBT rights, as well as abortion and reproductive rights. In recognition of her defense of democratic principles, she was awarded the 2019 European Prize for Political Culture. In 2023, she was awarded the Kaiser Otto Prize, for promoting democracy, tolerance, and dialogue.