Miroslav Lajčák

Biography

Early life and education

Lajčák attended primary school in Stará Ľubovňa. In 1977 his family moved to Bratislava, where he enrolled in grammar school on Bilíková Street. He finished the final year of his secondary education at grammar school in Banská Štiavnica. Later he studied law at the Comenius University in Bratislava for a year before he obtained a master's degree in international relations from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). As a student, he joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He also studied at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Diplomatic career (1988–2005)

A member of the Communist Party, Lajčák joined the Czechoslovak foreign ministry in 1988. Between 1991 and 1993 Lajčák was posted to the Czechoslovak and subsequently Slovak embassy in Moscow.

Upon his return to Slovakia in 1993 to the newly established Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, he took an active part in forming the national Foreign Service. He became Director of the Cabinet of the Foreign Minister and later on Director of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Jozef Moravčík.

In 1994, he was appointed Slovak Ambassador to Japan, becoming the youngest-ever Head of Diplomatic Mission of Slovakia. At the age of 31, he was also the youngest foreign ambassador in Japan. In 1998 after his posting to Japan he returned to the Foreign Ministry to become for the second time Director of Slovakia Foreign Minister's Cabinet.

His international engagements started in 1999 when he served as the Executive Assistant to the United Nations Secretary–General ́s Special Envoy for the Balkans, Eduard Kukan (until 2001).

Between 2001 and 2005, Lajčák was based in Belgrade as Slovakia's Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro), with accreditation also on Albania and the Republic of Macedonia.

Following his term in Belgrade, he was named Political Director at the Foreign Ministry of Slovakia (2005–2007).

Supervisor of Montenegro's independence referendum (2005)

In 2005 the EU diplomacy chief Javier Solana called Lajčák to supervise the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, which was approved with a 55.5% of favourable votes. Serbs and Montenegrins remember him as a tough though fair negotiator.

International High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2007–2009)

On 30 June 2007. Solana again chose Lajčák to succeed to Christian Schwarz-Schilling as the double-hatted High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina/EU Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR/EUSR). With a mandate from the UN Security Council, he liaised regularly with the United Nations and reported periodically to the Security Council. During his tenure, BiH signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, the most remarkable integration success of the country for many years to come. He also launched activities to reach out to the population including speaking tours and a website for dialogue with citizens.

He was soon acclaimed as "person of the year" by both Banja Luka-based Nezavisne novine and Sarajevo-based Dnevni Avaz dailies.

Lajčák acted in 2007–09 in line with a moderately strong role of the OHR (using Bonn powers more than Schwarz-Schilling but less than Paddy Ashdown); critics of the international supervision of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including David Chandler, pointed to his "authoritarian stance" as responsible for creating a further crisis by trying to impose major institutional change and alter the Dayton peace agreement framework without domestic ownership or legitimacy. Lajčák is deemed to have achieved results on the ground but at the price of endangering the credibility of EU conditionality by accepting merely cosmetic legal changes. He left BiH in January 2009 after being nominated to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia.

Lajčák did resort to the use of the Bonn Powers in the crisis related to the 2007 Law on the Council of Ministers, which caused a showdown with Milorad Dodik’s SNSD. The law, aimed at revising decision-making procedures to make the BiH government less prone to blockages, triggered the resignation of the Bosnian prime minister Nikola Špirić (SNSD) and withdrawal of Bosnian Serbs from state institutions. The OHR then published an "authentic interpretation" of the law, claiming that it did not intend to change the composition of the Council of Ministers. Lajčák also removed RS police officials deemed complicit in war crimes. Upon instructions of Solana, Lajčák contented himself of cosmetic changes to bring to an end the police reform saga, leading to the signature of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU in June 2008, despite claims that the EU had lost his credibility by lowering the bar which had been set by Paddy Ashdown in 2005.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia (2009–2010, 2012–2020)

From 26 January 2009 until July 2010, Lajčák served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Robert Fico's First Cabinet.

From December 2010 to April 2012 Lajčák served as managing director for Europe and Central Asia in the EU's External Action Service.

In April 2012 Lajčák was appointed again, as an independent, to the post of foreign minister and deputy prime minister in Robert Fico's Second Cabinet. In addition, he became Chairman of the Government's Council for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality.

After the 2014 Bosnian general election, he encouraged Dodik's SNSD party to enter the government coalition, despite having lost the Presidency seat, claiming that "new authorities must have legitimacy."

After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, in May 2014, he visited Moscow and met with the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin. Rogozin and Lajčák were co-chairs of a joint Slovak-Russian cooperation body.

In November 2015 Slovakia voted against Kosovo's membership in UNESCO. Lajčák later explained that Slovakia wanted Belgrade and Pristina to interpret it as a message, that the international community expects parties to submit such proposals on the basis of mutual agreement and consent. "Our interest is to strengthen the dialogue. One of the reasons why we took a negative attitude is that the issue was not the subject of the dialogue and we are afraid it could worsen it," he added.

In 2016 Lajčák called on the EU to abandon its "ideological" approach to Russia.

In October 2018, he threatened to freeze relations with Vietnam over the case of a Vietnamese businessman who was kidnapped by Vietnamese agents and smuggled back home through Slovakia.

In November 2018, Lajčák lambasted as "anti-democratic" the proposed Kosovo–Serbia land swap and cautioned against the regional repercussions of such a proposal.

Since 2019, Lajčák has been serving on the Transatlantic Task Force of the German Marshall Fund and the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung (BKHS), co-chaired by Karen Donfried and Wolfgang Ischinger.

Between the EU-facilitated 5 August political agreement and the December breakthrough on a new SNSD-led government, on 27 Oct 2019, Lajčák invited both Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović to Bratislava for "international mediation" which paved the way for BiH adopting its ANP with NATO.

Lajčák announced in November 2019 that he would leave Slovak politics following the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election.

EEAS Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia (2010–2012)

From 2010 to 2012, Lajčák helped shape the newly formed diplomatic service of the European Union, the European External Action Service, as its managing director for Europe and Central Asia. In addition, he also served as the EU's Chief Negotiator for the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement and Moldova–European Union Association Agreement, as well as the EU Representative for the 5+2 Talks on the Transnistrian Settlement Process.

Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU (2016)

In June 2016, Slovakia took over the Presidency of the EU Council. In his speech presenting the priorities for the Slovak Presidency Lajčák said "Today, we call the EU our home, the euro our currency and Schengen our area. The Presidency is the culmination of our integration journey. We are at the core of Europe. And we are grateful for that because we were given a lot. It's time to give back."

In November 2016, following revelations by a whistleblower, Transparency International Slovakia accused Lajčák of dubious procurement contracts during the Slovak EU Council Presidency. The accusation was never proven.

From May 2016, Lajčák was one official candidate for the Eastern European Group to succeed to Ban Ki-moon during the 2016 United Nations Secretary-General selection; he ended up in the second place after the current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.

President of the UN General Assembly (2017–2018)

Lajčák also served as President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly from 2017 to 2018 where he advocated for dialogue, strengthening multilateralism and the need to serve all people. He was the first president to publish his financial disclosure summary.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (2019)

In 2019, Lajčák was particularly active in East and South-East Europe as Chairperson-in-office of the OSCE. Slovakia's OSCE Chairmanship focused on people, dialogue and stability. During his tenure, Lajčák visited 15 OSCE field presences to highlight the OSCE's important work on the ground, and held high-level talks with interlocutors in the OSCE region, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in February, June, and September 2019, as well as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in April 2019. Ahead of the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council, Lajčák shared his Bratislava Appeal, an informal initiative addressed to foreign ministers from across the OSCE area arguing for more support to the OSCE and multilateralism.

EU Special Representative (2020–2025)

On 2 April 2020, Miroslav Lajčák was appointed by the EU Council as the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues. His mandate included the tasks of achieving a comprehensive normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, improving good neighborly relations, and contributing to the consistency of EU action in the region. His term was extended several times to provide continuity during critical negotiations.

In April 2024, it was initially announced that he would transition to the role of EU Ambassador to Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, however, this appointment was ultimately cancelled due to "unforeseen developments" and the need to maintain stability in the Dialogue during the transition of EU leadership. Consequently, the EU Council formally extended his mandate a final time until 31 January 2025.

German Member of the European Parliament Reinhard Bütikofer publicly criticized Lajčák, describing his performance in the role as a "disaster". These remarks followed reports that Lajčák would be transitioning from his mediation post to serve as the EU Ambassador to Switzerland starting in September 2024. Bütikofer expressed hope that Lajčák's new appointment would not negatively impact diplomatic relations between the EU and Switzerland as his previous tenure had in the Balkans. Throughout his mandate, Lajčák faced various criticisms from Kosovo officials and political analysts who questioned his impartiality in the regional dialogue process.

Following the completion of his service, Lajčák was succeeded on 1 February 2025 by Danish diplomat Peter Sørensen.

Special Advisor to Robert Fico (2025–2026)

After five years as the EU's chief negotiator in the Balkans, Lajčák returned to Slovak diplomacy, where he was appointed as a Special Advisor to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, focusing on security issues and the Western Balkans.

Epstein files

In late 2025 and early 2026, the release of over three million pages of documents related to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, known as the "Epstein files" by the U.S. Department of Justice, sparked a significant political controversy in Slovakia. The documents revealed, that Lajčák had extensive email communication with Epstein between 2017 and 2019. During the period of correspondence, Lajčák simultaneously served as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia in Fico's Third Cabinet and President of the United Nations General Assembly.

In November 2025, it was disclosed that the correspondence featured a familiar tone, with Epstein referring to Lajčák as "Miro" and discussing his potential advancement to top roles in the UN or NATO. Notably, in a March 15, 2018, email to Steve Bannon, Epstein explicitly identified Lajčák as the person who would lead a "European project" and predicted the fall of the Slovak government "as planned", an event that occurred just days later following the murder of Ján Kuciak. While Lajčák admitted to social contact, he maintains the interactions were purely professional and routine for his diplomatic duties.

Despite intense pressure from the opposition and coalition partner Slovak National Party to dismiss Lajčák, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has staunchly defended him. Fico characterized Lajčák as an "excellent diplomat" and stated he would not "execute" a colleague based on social meetings without evidence of moral or legal failure.

A photograph released in December 2025 confirmed their personal connection, showing Lajčák and Epstein together at the Slovak diplomatic residence in Vienna.

In January 2026, the new records allegedly show Lajčák asking Jeffrey Epstein to introduce him to "young girls" and boasting that Epstein had not yet seen him "in action". In these exchanges, Lajčák reportedly requested an invitation to participate in Epstein’s private "games," and records further indicate that Epstein offered him "young sisters" as well. Lajčák's name appears more than 300 times throughout the documentation.

The released documents state that Miroslav Lajčák offered to present Robert Fico as a suitable political figure for the agendas of the American far-right and strategist Steve Bannon. According to the publicized records, Lajčák actively promoted Fico as a figure who could be utilized to further specific political interests within the Western radical right network. The files contain transcripts where Lajčák explicitly characterizes Fico as the "right figure" for the strategic goals discussed with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.

On 31 January 2026, following a joint statement from opposition politicians calling for his departure and mounting pressure from the media, Lajčák submitted his resignation, which Robert Fico agreed to and accepted, marking the end of Lajčák's tenure as a key advisor. Commenting on the decision, Fico stated: "Miro has once again proven himself to be a great diplomat and I accept his offer to end our cooperation, although we are all, not just myself, losing an incredible source of experience in diplomacy and foreign policy".

Personal life

Lajčák is married to Jarmila Lajčáková-Hargašová (born 1966), a TV news presenter. They have two daughters.

Apart from his native Slovak, Lajčák is fluent in English, German, Russian, French and the South Slavic languages, including Bulgarian.

Awards and honors

State Honors

• Yugoslavia:
  • [[File:Order of the Yugoslavian Great Star Rib.png|60px]] Order of the Yugoslav Star, 1st Class (2005)
• Moldova:
  • [[File:MDA Ordinul de Onoare BAR.png|60px]] Order of Honour (2014)
• Montenegro:
  • [[File:MNE Order of the Montenegrin Grand Star BAR.svg|60px]] Order of the Montenegrin Grand Star (2016)
• Sweden:
  • [[File:Order of the Polar Star - Ribbon bar.svg|60px]] Order of the Polar Star (2020)
• Romania:
  • [[File:Order of the Star of Romania - Ribbon bar.svg|60px]] Order of the Star of Romania, 3rd Class, Grand Officer (2020)
• Japan:
  • [[File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho blank BAR.svg|60px]] Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class, Grand Cordon (2022)

Honorary Doctorates

• Bulgaria:
  • University of National and World Economy
• Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • University of Mostar
• Russia:
  • Moscow State Institute of International Relations
• Romania:
  • National University of Political Studies and Public Administration
• Montenegro:
  • University of Montenegro

Other activities

• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member
• Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees
• GLOBSEC, Member of the International Advisory Council
• European Alpbach Forum, Member of the International Advisory Board

References

References

1. "Members of the Government - Úrad vlády SR".
2. "President of the 72nd Session - General Assembly of the United Nations".
3. "Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, president of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly".
4. {{CELEX
5. (30 January 2026). "Lajčák sa opäť objavil v Epsteinových spisoch. Sexuálny predátor núkal exministrovi mladé ženy".
6. (30 January 2026). "Epstein ponúkal Lajčákovi mladé ženy: Možno sú príliš mladé, zober si aj sestry. Čo ukazujú nové Epstein Files?".
7. (19 December 2025). "Photo: Then foreign minister Miroslav Lajčák met Jeffrey Epstein at Slovak embassy".
8. (31 January 2026). "Lajčák končí ako poradca premiéra, Fico ho bráni a kritizuje médiá".
9. [http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/infoBios/setimes/resource_centre/bio-archive/lajcak_miroslav Lajcak Miroslav] {{Dead link. (January 2025)
10. "Letter dated 25 May 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council".
11. "Secretary-General Election 1 June 2016".
12. (2006-06-04). "Montenegro declares independence".
13. [http://euobserver.com/enlargement/21001 EU wins Montenegro's support for its referendum formula], published on 2006/02/27.
14. "Diplo - Startseite - HTTP Status 404".
15. "Secretary-General Election 1 June 2016".
16. (December 16, 2007). "Lajčák is person of the year in Bosnia". [[SME (newspaper).
17. "Lajčak ličnost, a Stanković privrednik godine - Događaji - Nezavisne novine".
18. (December 29, 2007). "Lajčák person of the year again". [[SME (newspaper).
19. Chandler, David. (November 20, 2007). "Response: The high representative for Bosnia still runs it like a feudal fiefdom". The Guardian.
20. McEvoy, Joanne. (2015). "Power-Sharing Executives: Governing in Bosnia, Macedonia, and Northern Ireland". University of Pennsylvania Press.
21. McEvoy, Joanne. (2015). "Power-Sharing Executives: Governing in Bosnia, Macedonia, and Northern Ireland". University of Pennsylvania Press.
22. Lamont, Dr Christopher K.. (2013-03-28). "International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance". Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..
23. Petersen, Roger D.. (2011-09-30). "Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict". Cambridge University Press.
24. Koneska, Cvete. (2016-04-01). "After Ethnic Conflict: Policy-making in Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia". Routledge.
25. "CONSILIUM - Miroslav Lajčák".
26. "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - EU High Representative Catherine Ashton appoints two Managing Directors for the External Action Service".
27. [http://visegradrevue.eu/?p=721 Slovak Foreign Policy After the 2012 Elections: What To Expect], published on May 9, 2012.
28. "Analiziraj".
29. (2014-05-23). "Slovakia nurtures special ties to Russia, despite EU sanctions".
30. (11 October 2015). "Slovak FM explains his country's vote against Pristina's bid".
31. (30 June 2016). "EU must change 'ideological' policy on Russia, says Slovak FM".
32. Tatiana Jancarikova (October 20, 2018), [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-slovakia-politics/slovakia-threatens-to-freeze-relations-with-vietnam-over-kidnapping-case-idUSKCN1MU09T Slovakia threatens to freeze relations with Vietnam over kidnapping case] ''[[Reuters]]''.
33. (November 22, 2018). "Slovakia's Lajcak: Serbia-Kosovo Land Swap 'Anti-Democratic'".
34. [http://www.gmfus.org/press-releases/german-marshall-fund-and-bundeskanzler-helmut-schmidt-stiftung-launch-transatlantic The German Marshall Fund and Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung Launch "Transatlantic Task Force" Setting Path Forward for U.S.-Europe Relations] {{Webarchive. link. (2019-12-14 [[German Marshall Fund]], press release of December 12, 2019.)
35. "Lajčák Talks with Dodik and Čović - Current Issues - Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic".
36. "Press corner".
37. "The priorities of the Slovak Republic Presidency of the Council of the EU".
38. "Introduction of the vision and priorities of the Slovak Presidency in Brussels - News Detail - Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic".
39. (November 30, 2016). "How I Left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to Dubious Procurement Contracts > Transparency International Slovensko".
40. Gabrizova, Zuzana. (November 22, 2016). "Transparency International looks into Slovak Presidency accounting". Euractiv.
41. "Slovak Foreign Minister Eyes UN Sec Gen Post".
42. Sewell Chan (May 11, 2018), [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/world/asia/macau-ng-un-bribery.html Macau Tycoon Gets 4 Years in Prison for Bribing U.N. Diplomats] ''[[New York Times]]''.
43. "Programme of the Slovak OSCE Chairmanship 2019".
44. "Statement by Miroslav Lajčák, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia".
45. "Lavrov to hold talks with Slovak foreign minister on February 19".
46. "Lajčák talks with Lavrov in Saint Petersburg - News Detail - Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic".
47. "Miroslav Lajčák in Talks with Sergey Lavrov and Other Partners, in New York - News Detail - Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic".
48. "We apologize for the inconvenience...".
49. "OSCE Chair Lajčák kicks off 26th Ministerial Council with his 'Bratislava Appeal'; calls for increased flexibility and willingness to compromise".
50. [https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/04/03/belgrade-pristina-dialogue-eu-appoints-a-new-special-representative/ EU Council], 3 April 2020
51. (6 September 2024). ""Unforeseen developments", Lajçak will not become EU ambassador in Switzerland".
52. (4 April 2024). ""Lajcak was a disaster in his work", the German MEP: I hope he does not cloud the EU's relations with Switzerland".
53. (28 January 2025). "Peter Sørensen is the new EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue".
54. (28 March 2025). "Pellegrini: Lajcak Will Be Premier's Advisor on Western Balkans".
55. "President of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly".
56. (14 November 2025). "Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajčák drawn into newly released Epstein emails".
57. (14 November 2025). "Slovak media: Miroslav Lajcak included in newly released Epstein emails".
58. (14 November 2025). "Lajcak: I Only Engaged Socially with Epstein, I Condemn His Actions".
59. (15 November 2025). "SNS vyzýva premiéra, aby ukončil spoluprácu s Lajčákom. Chce preverenie komunikácie rezortu zahraničia".
60. (26 November 2025). "Premier: Lajcak Did Nothing That Would Make Me Want to Dismiss Him".
61. (26 November 2025). "Fico rozhodol o Lajčákovi: „Pre mňa je excelentný diplomat.“".
62. (19 December 2025). "Photo: Then foreign minister Miroslav Lajčák met Jeffrey Epstein at Slovak embassy".
63. (30 January 2026). "Lajčák sa opäť objavil v Epsteinových spisoch. Sexuálny predátor núkal exministrovi mladé ženy".
64. (30 January 2026). "Epstein ponúkal Lajčákovi mladé ženy: Možno sú príliš mladé, zober si aj sestry. Čo ukazujú nové Epstein Files?".
65. (30 January 2026). "„Môžeš mať obe dievčatá. Všetky majú pod 30.“ Epstein si s Lajčákom dopisoval o ŽENÁCH, Fico mal s Bannonom rozohrať hru".
66. (31 January 2026). "Lajčák končí ako poradca premiéra, Fico ho bráni a kritizuje médiá".
67. [https://www.mzv.sk/documents/10182/146045/Miroslav+Laj%C4%8D%C3%A1k+-+kr%C3%A1tky+%C5%BEivotopis+-+EN/fe16dc10-41bf-42f6-b435-9eee7d66cd8e CV], MSV.sk
68. "Miroslav Lajčák - Slovakia´s candidate for UN Secretary-General - Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic".
69. "Miroslav Lajčák".
70. (1 September 2014). "Lajčák dostal najvyššie štátne vyznamenanie Čiernej Hory".
71. (21 May 2016). "Lajčák dostal najvyššie štátne vyznamenanie Čiernej Hory".
72. (15 January 2020). "M. Lajčák dostal švédske kráľovské vyznamenanie".
73. (28 February 2020). "Rumunský prezident udelil Lajčákovi najvyššie štátne vyznamenanie".
74. (10 November 2022). "Slovak diplomat Lajcak awarded by Japanese Emperor".
75. (2019-10-27). "Miroslav Lajcak Was Awarded the Honorary Title of Doctor Honoris Causa of UNWE". UNWE.
76. "Miroslav Lajčák Awarded an Honorary Degree by the University of Mostar - News Detail - Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic".
77. "Slovak Foreign Minister Becomes Honorary Doctor of MGIMO".
78. (19 June 2018). "Press Release: ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VISITS ROMANIA, HIGHLIGHTS CRUCIAL ROLE OF MULTILATERALISM {{!}} General Assembly of the United Nations".
79. "M. Lajčák Wraps up His Visit to Montenegro - News Detail - Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic".
80. [http://www.ecfr.eu/council/members Members] [[European Council on Foreign Relations]].
81. [https://www.globsec.org/who-we-are/international-advisory-council International Advisory Council] [[GLOBSEC]].
82. [https://www.alpbach.org/ International Advisory Council] [[Alpbach]].