Iveta Radičová

Iveta Radičová (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈiʋeta ˈraɟitʂɔʋaː]; née Karafiátová; born 7 December 1956) is a Slovak sociologist and former politician who served as prime minister of Slovakia from 2010 to 2012. The first woman to hold the position, Radičová led a coalition government as a member of the SDKÚ-DS. As prime minister, she was responsible for managing the economy after the Great Recession, and she supported budget cuts to reduce the government deficit.

Born in communist Czechoslovakia, Radičová began an academic career as a sociologist and specialized in methodology so she did not have to participate in ideological projects. She was one of the few women to take a prominent role in the Velvet Revolution, serving as a spokeswoman for Public Against Violence. She founded the Social Policy Analysis Center in 1992. During the 1990s, she opposed the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the rule of Vladimír Mečiar. In 2005, she was appointed Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family. Radičová was elected a member of parliament in 2006, and she was the runner-up in the 2009 presidential election. She was forced to resign from parliament in 2010 when she cast a vote on behalf of a colleague, but she returned to parliament later that year as the leader of her party. Radičová's party formed a coalition, making her prime minister. Her coalition collapsed in 2011 when she tied the European Financial Stability Facility to confidence in her government. After stepping down, Radičová returned to academia.