Martina Kisková (née Živorová, born 27 June 1975) is a Slovak engineer, she was First Lady of Slovakia, and wife of President Andrej Kiska. Kisková, who became First Lady in 2014 at the age of 38, is the country's youngest first lady in its history.[1]

Martina Kisková
First Lady of Slovakia
In role
15 June 2014 – 15 June 2019
PresidentAndrej Kiska
Preceded bySilvia Gašparovičová
Succeeded byJuraj Rizman (As First Gentleman)
Personal details
Born
Martina Živorová

(1975-06-27) 27 June 1975 (age 48)
Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
Spouse
(m. 2003)
Children3
Alma materMatej Bel University

Biography edit

Kiskova was born in Banská Bystrica, present-day Slovakia. She was raised in Banská Bystrica's Rudlová neighborhood and later moved to Graniari Street with her parents.[2] Kiskova attended Andreja Sládkoviča Gymnasium in Banská Bystrica and graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the Matej Bel University.[2][3]

Martina Kisková is an engineer by profession.[4] In addition to Slovak, Kisková speaks English, German, Russian, and Spanish.[4]

In 2003, Kisková married Andrej Kiska. It was her first marriage and Kiska's second.[5] The couple have three children - Veronika (born 2005), Viktor (born 2009), and Martin, who was born in July 2017 during their tenure as President and First Lady.[5]

Kisková refrained from campaigning on behalf of her husband during the 2014 presidential election, arguing that she needed to protect their young children from the pressures of the campaign spotlight.[4] She made her first official public appearance as at her husband's inauguration and inaugural parade on 15 June 2014, after remaining behind-the-scenes during the campaign.[4][6]

Kisková has stated that the care and well-being of her children is her highest priority.[4] She has noted that she and her husband are the first presidential couple in either Slovakia or the Czech Republic to serve in office while raising small children.[4] Kisková explained the importance of her children in an interview before the 2014 election, "Given that none of the last Slovak or Czech presidents had small children, it is necessary to approach this situation with sensitivity and to realize that children need their mother."[7] Her oldest two were 9 and 5 years old when the couple became President and First Lady in 2014.[4] The couple's third child, Martin, was born in July 2017 while in office.[5]

During the first month's of Kiska's presidency, Kisková announced that she would remain at their home in Poprad with their children, while President Kiska worked in Bratislava during the week.[7] Kisková and the president's office also announced that she would only attending official events sporadically, in favor of raising with their children, and would refrain from most official travel engagements until they were older.[7]

In addition to her role as First Lady, she heads a charitable organization called Dobrý anjel.[2][4]

References edit

  1. ^ "Prvá dáma Martina Kisková: Čo odkazuje všetkým neprajníkom?". Pluska.sk. 2014-04-13. Archived from the original on 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  2. ^ a b c "Slovensko má nového prezidenta, Bystrica prvú dámu". BBonline.sk. 2014-06-15. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  3. ^ Todova, Monika (2014-04-02). "Budúca prvá dáma Martina Kisková: Hlavné sú deti". SME. Archived from the original on 2016-06-04. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Toto je nová prvá dáma Slovenska: Martina Kisková sa po boku manžela ukázala v plnej paráde". Diva.sk. 2014-06-17. Archived from the original on 2016-11-12. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  5. ^ a b c "President Kiska has a new baby son". The Slovak Spectator. 2017-07-10. Archived from the original on 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  6. ^ "President Kiska has a new baby son". Webnoviny.sk. 2018-06-15. Archived from the original on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  7. ^ a b c Mikusovic, Dusan (2014-04-11). "Kiska je doma stále v Poprade, no už si všíma viac aj iné kraje". Denník SME. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2018-08-25.