Ivan Korčok

Ivan Korčok (born 4 April 1964) is a Slovak politician and retired executive diplomat who was Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia from 2020 to 2022 as an independent nominee of the Freedom and Solidarity political party.

A graduate of the University of Economics in Bratislava and the Institute of International Relations at Comenius University, Korčok served as a career diplomat at various ranks from 1992 to 2020. In August 2023, Korčok announced his candidacy in the 2024 Slovak presidential election.

Korčok placed first in the preliminary round with 42% of the votes ahead of second-place finisher Peter Pellegrini who received 37%. However, Korčok lost the runoff receiving 47% of the vote to Pellegrini's 53%.

Early life From 1983 to 1987, Korčok studied at the University of Economics in Bratislava, and subsequently undertook postgraduate studies at the Institute of International Relations of Comenius University in Bratislava from 1991 to 1995.

Between 2001 and 2005, he worked again at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as director general of the Section of International Organizations and Security Policy, later state secretary.

Korčok served as the Slovak Ambassador to Germany between 2005 and 2009. After Korčok handed over his credentials to US President Donald Trump in September, he became the seventh Slovak ambassador to the United States.

Political career (2020–present) Following the 2020 parliamentary elections, Korčok was nominated by the Freedom and Solidarity party to be Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. Korčok was officially appointed as a member of the government on April 8. Korčok served as the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the Cabinet of Igor Matovič from April 2020 until the collapse of the government in late March 2021. One week later, he was appointed back to the position in the new Cabinet of Eduard Heger. He resigned in September 2022 alongside other ministers nominated by the Freedom and Solidarity party due to major disagreements with Igor Matovič, the party leader of OĽANO, the largest coalition party.

Following President Zuzana Čaputová's announcement that she would not run for reelection, Korčok was cited by the media as potential candidate to replace her in the 2024 presidential election. When asked in June 2023, Korčok stated that he was considering running for the position. He officially announced his candidacy in August 2023, with polling at that time estimating between 30% and 35% of the vote in the first round. Running as an independent candidate, the political parties Freedom and Solidarity, Progressive Slovakia, Christian Democratic Movement and the non-parliamentary Democrats endorsed his candidacy. In the first round on 23 March, Korčok achieved 42.51% and advancing to a runoff against former prime minister Peter Pellegrini. On 6 April 2024, in the second round, Korčok with 46.88% lost to Pellegrini with 53.12%.

Personal life Korčok is married to his wife, Soňa, with whom he has two sons.