Ivan Štefanec (born 30 September 1961 in Považská Bystrica) is a Slovak politician and business manager, former member of the Slovak Parliament and current member of the European Parliament for Christian Democratic Movement.
Early life and education
Ivan Štefanec was born in Považská Bystrica, Slovakia. After finishing high school in 1979, he studied at the University of Economics in Bratislava studying Economic Mathematics from 1979 to 1983. He later supplemented his studies with a postgraduate study of the English language at Comenius University in Bratislava (1987–1989). After the events of November 1989, he was one of the first Czechoslovak students to use the opportunity to study abroad and became a successful graduate of the first MBA program for managers in Central and Eastern Europe with a diploma from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York (1991–1992). Among many reputable professors, he was taught by Douglass North, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1993. In the year 1994, Ivan Štefanec finished his scientific postgraduate studies at the University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of Business and Informatics in Bratislava.
Career
Ivan Štefanec started working as a researcher and later as a project manager at the engineering plant Považské Strojárne, Považská Bystrica in 1983. From 1992 to1993 he worked as the branch manager of Ernst & Young CS Consulting and since 1994 his professional career was intertwined with the company Coca-Cola. He started as chief financial officer and deputy general manager and successfully ran the company Coca-Cola Beverages Slovakia as the general manager for 5 years. Under his leadership, Coca-Cola Beverages Slovakia was awarded with the National Quality Prize 2001. Following this and other accomplishments Ivan Štefanec was appointed the EU integration manager of Coca-Cola HBC in Vienna in January 2003. This role, among other responsibilities, incorporated the preparation of the company for EU Enlargement in all accessible countries. Ivan Štefanec was also the president of the Business Alliance of Slovakia from when it was founded in 2001 until 2005.
Political career
Career in national politics
In 2003, Štefanec was nominated for the position of European Commissioner by the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union. After the 2004 wind disaster in the High Tatra Mountains, Ivan Štefanec led the Government Committee for the recovery and development of the High Tatras. In 2006, he was appointed as the Plenipotentiary for adoption of the Euro in Slovakia. From 2006 – 2010 and 2010 – 2014 he was a member of the Slovak National Council. He focused specifically on Economic issues and European affairs. Moreover, he was active in the area of SMEs, entrepreneurship and Slovak/Taiwanese relations. In 2010 he was appointed the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs. On 19 February 2015 Ivan Štefanec left the SDKÚ-DS party claiming that the party has ceased to function. He has been a member of the Slovak political party KDH (Christian Democratic Movement) since November 2015.
With respect to international relations, his main actions include:
Supporting Slovak national conventions of the EU- Moldova, Ukraine, Montenegro- help enforcing the European agenda and creating a civil society Visiting Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan- on the basis of an invitation from the National Democratic Institute, he participated in a lecture tour and meetings with members of the parliament about democracy and transparency Visiting Kosovo- on the basis of an invitation from the British Council, he led a parliamentary delegation made up of representatives from each party as well as the president herself, the President of the Parliament and members of the government with the goal of developing non-diplomatic relations Visiting Taiwan- as the delegation leader, he participated in meetings with representatives of the government and parliamentary representatives, while the goal of the meeting was the development of treaties concerning the support of small businesses and the support of science and technology parks
In cooperation with the Taiwanese government, he has credit for the sponsorship of:
Computer technology and teaching aids for schools in Bratislava, Považská Bystrica, and Kozarovce Health equipment for Mýtna Clinic and the Faculty hospital of Bratislava WiFi access on both sides of the Dunaj River in Bratislava The house of the Third Age in Bratislava-Petržalka An orphanage in Modra-Harmónia